Author: Mike Coots
Source: CNN
July 23, 2012

"The latest string of fatal shark attacks in Western Australia is creating a climate of fear that could haphazardly undo a very important environmental law that protects great white sharks.

Last weekend, 24-year-old surfer Ben Linden was attacked by a great white near Perth, becoming the fifth fatality off that coast in the past 10 months. In response, the Western Australia Fishing Minister, Norman Moore, promised to write the federal government "to know if there has been any update on the status of the white sharks and the sustainability level at which the Federal Government will lift protection." If Mr. Moore has his way, hundreds if not thousands of sharks will be killed in Australia. I have a problem with that.

Yes, my heart goes out to the victims' families and friends who are mourning the losses of these tragic events, and I in no way downplay the pain and sadness an attack has on an entire community."

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