LOCAL surfers remain fearful and vulnerable to shark attack following a ruling which scuttled plans to redeploy baited hooks off South West beaches this summer, according to one of Margaret River's leading surf figures.
Surfer and custom board maker Mat Manners said the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) decision to effectively ban the highly controversial shark mitigation program was disappointing.
The prominent surfer was among witnesses to the fatal great white shark attack on Busselton surfer Nick Edwards at Gracetown in 2010.
"I'm disappointed and I know a lot of other people are too," he said.
"The majority wanted to see a cull because there is no other option."
However, Mr Manners said the program had been poorly executed, with surfers convinced the trial should have been conducted over winter and spring whale migration season when all local attacks on surfers had occurred.
The comments came as acting WA Tourism Minister John Day declared he would not be swimming far from the shore in the South West this summer.
Mr Day said while he would encourage people to still holiday in the region, the shark attack risk remained.
"If it was me, I would not be surfing or going swimming far off the coast," he said.
"But that is a personal decision, people can make that choice for themselves. There is a risk for many things we do in life. Clearly there is a risk of sharks in the South West."
But the mother of Bunker Bay shark victim Kyle Burden, Sharon Burden, said it was now time for the WA Government to seek a solution which was based on sound research and did not divide the community.
"The funds set aside for the proposed three year drum line policy should be directed towards helping local communities to do local area analysis and fund their own combination of risk mitigation strategies," Mrs Burden said.
"This should be in conjunction with the advice and help of marine scientists and other specialists who can guide communities towards the best choices for their needs based on what is available at this time."
Premier Colin Barnett had sought approval to redeploy 72 baited hooks in November as part of its Shark Mitigation Program, which it introduced following the death of Chris Boyd at Gracetown in November 2013.
EPA chairman Paul Vogel pointed to a high degree of scientific uncertainty and inability by the Barnett government to provide a "igh level of confidence to the EPA that the multi million dollar program was an efficient way of dealing with the shark menace.
"The EPA has adopted a cautious approach by recommending against the proposal," says Dr Vogel.
The EPA report will now be handed to the Minister for Environment who will hand down a final ruling in two weeks.
The initial deployment resulted in the capture and killing of 64 tiger sharks and several other species of sharks, but it failed to nab a single great white, arguably the target of the entire program and the species believed responsible.
The program also stirred up passionate debate either side of the argument, with many South West surfers unhappy with the positioning of the baited hooks and drum lines, which were clearly visible from prime breaks including North Point and Guillotines.But the EPA decision is likely to put an end to that argument and Surfing WA chairman, Bob Welch, who threw his and the organisation's support behind the program, is not happy.
"We are very disappointed in the outcome resulting from the EPA's advice," he said.
"Our members will expect us to continue a pro-active stance in considering the safety while (they are) in the ocean.
"We will continue to work with government on investigating all possible strategies to maintain safety."
But Dunsborough surfer Rae Marie Threnoworth said she was ecstatic and it meant they could focus on safety
"It means we can focus on an effective way of dealing with safety in the water rather than installing a false sense of security in surfers," Ms Threnoworth said.
"My biggest hope now is Colin Barnett redirects the bloated funds which were to be put into the drum line program to alternative and more effective means that will actually protect people and our fragile eco systems."
Premier Colin Barnett said the government would now look at dealing with singular shark sightings in a quick, efficient way.
"I think our focus will be now what to do with perhaps a rogue shark that stays in the area and is an imminent threat to beachgoers,'' he said
"I think that shark has to be destroyed and moved."
Guidelines set out by Fisheries WA in 2012 said it would only act on a sighting if verified by "experienced commercial fishers, Surf Life Saving WA representatives or fisheries officers''.
The guidelines state those sightings " have tended to be more reliable than reports from the general public".