A significant increase in the seal population could be luring more sharks into the waters of north-west Tasmania, a local fisherman says.
Stanley Chamber of Commerce chair Bernard Atkins has fished recreationally in the area for much of his life and said "once upon a time, say 30 years ago, there was only a handful of seals".
"And today's there's 400 or 500 of them," he said.
"There are a lot of seals out there now, more than ever before."
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Mr Atkins believed the population growth was largely due to a drop in seal hunting and a rise in relocation of seals to the area.
And while the change has created business opportunities, such as seal watching cruises, it was also creating an abundant food source for sharks.
"And that's the problem: the food chain," Mr Atkins said.
Mr Atkins shared his observations of the marine ecosystem at Stanley the day after a 10-year-old was attacked by what was believed to be a great white shark.
The boy was "grabbed" out of his fishing boat by the shark but managed to survive the attack.
Mr Atkins said the incident was "a bit like Jaws" and "puts fear into a lot of people with smaller boats".
But he said "at the end of the day it's very rare to see" sharks.
"It's just probably an occurrence that happened toady that might never occur again for some time," Mr Atkins said.
OCEAN A 'BIG BLUE WILDERNESS'
Australian Marine Conservation Society shark scientist Leonardo Guida said it was important to remember the sea was not the sole dominion of humans.
"When we venture into the ocean, it's a big blue wilderness and any activities we take out on the water, we have to do so understanding the risk and being informed," he said.
Dr Guida said the Stanley attack was "a completely freakish and rare accident" and education was the key to improving safety in the water, not shark culls.
"Education is fundamental so that people are aware of the activities they are doing and they can make their own well-informed decision," he said.
"That way we can reduce the risk and limit harm to wildlife as well.
Dr Guida said one way to reduce risk would be to avoid throwing entails into the water if fishers must gut a fish while in deep water.
He said sharks were an incredibly important part of marine ecosystems "and without them they can potentially become unstable and collapse".
"My life's mission is to protect sharks and protect the ocean," he said. "Because a healthy ocean will mean healthy people."
Lachlan Bennett
Lachlan Bennett is a journalist based in Burnie with an interest in politics, primary industries, transportation, tourism and the West Coast.
Lachlan Bennett is a journalist based in Burnie with an interest in politics, primary industries, transportation, tourism and the West Coast.
