Shark Tourism Banned in Western Australia

Cage diving with sharks is to be banned in Western Australia following the deaths of four people attacked while in the sea. The activity is popular in Southern Australia and South Africa but operators will be prevented from setting up businesses on Australia’s west coast for fear of attracting more sharks.

Norman Moore, the fisheries minister for Western Australia, quoted research that suggests cage diving can change the behavior of sharks.

There have been four fatal attacks in the area since September. Last month, an Irish expat was attacked while paddling in a "surf ski" kayak in Perth. Martin Kane, 62, was in the sea with friends when a shark, though to have been a great white, bit at his ski, snapping the kayak in half. He was able to scramble onto his friend's kayak and escaped alive.