Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Drum lines placed after Qld shark attacks
Drum lines have been set after two tourists were critically injured in separate attacks at a harbour in the Whitsunday Islands in north Queensland.
September 22, 2018
Baited hooks will remain in place for a week following two shark attacks in less than 24 hours at Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands.
Melbourne girl, Hannah Papps, was holidaying with her father and sister when she received a life-threatening wound to her right leg on Thursday while swimming in shallow water in Cid Harbour.
Her attack came after Tasmanian mother of two, Justine Barwick, 46, was bitten on her left thigh while snorkelling in the same area a day earlier.
Both have now been transferred to hospitals in Brisbane where the 12-year-old is in a critical but stable condition and Ms Barwick is stable.
Fisheries Queensland set three baited drum lines in the harbour on Friday at Sawmill Bay.
The department’s shark control program manager Jeff Krause said it was too early to determine what species of shark was responsible for the first attacks in the area in eight years.
In other areas of north Queensland, the shark control program targets Tiger and Bull sharks.
It is the first time baited hooks have been used in the popular holiday spot, where the tourism industry is still recovering following Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
The area is expected to be inundated with tourists in the coming weeks with school holidays starting in Queensland this week.