An Australian was charged with stealing an acoustic monitoring tag from a great white shark and setting off false shark alarms in Western Australia.
Police in the Western Australian town of Albany charged the 48-year old man for stealing an ‘acoustic monitor tag,’ which is used to track sharks along the coast as part of their shark mitigation measures.
These tags trigger an alarm when sharks swim within range of a network of receivers situated along the West Australian coast, providing real-time warnings of dangers.
Since the program started, 115 sharks, including great whites sized up to 4.1m, have been tagged.
According to The West Australian, the man got hold of the monitoring stage after accidentally catching a great white while fishing
Although the police did not release further details on the suspect, Albany police officer-in-charge, Senior Sergeant Hugh Letessier, told The West Australian that the alleged behaviour was ‘irresponsible.’
‘It leaves an untagged white shark that we know is in waters off Albany,’ Letessier said. ‘Also the false alarm causes unnecessary fear to residents and people using the water.’
The man is due to appear in Albany court on 4 November.
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