Hi All,
Went windsurfing in the mouth at Noosa, on my first run out I saw a small shark in the water. It was very fast and zippy, don't know what type. It was a bit small about 1.5m maybe 2?, but can anyone tell me if there is a shark problem there? I had a hard time getting back in the water.
What type of sharks swim in those waters?
I thought the Jet skis would scare them off, but doesn't seems so.
there was a kiter that got followed a year or so ago by a very large tiger shark. followed him about 1 km then circled and got ready for dinner. a couple of surf life savers rescued him.
the reality is if you go in the water at river mouths then you are also where the sharks hang out. i don't want to put you off but reality is sharks are everywhere. both qld and nsw have the highest incidents.
but.... we all windsurf/go in the water etc. there has only ever been one fatality in noosa by shark attack.
this will freak you out but......
open this file in google earth
730705-AustralianSharkAttackCollection2008.kmz
and check out these staistics.
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/maps/australia/
i notice NT doesn't have many shark attacks. i guess thats because between the crocks, stingers, water snakes and stone fish they don't go in the water up there. 
p.s. did the shart have stripes?
Justin - The shart?
Thats what i do when i fall off at hi speeds!!!
Noosa and Sharks - Yes there are many sharks there, my time there from 91-98 i seen a 4 meter Tiger pulled out of the nets near the groyne in 92 but happened at Xmas time and never got published in the paper - scares the tourists apparently
I surfed the river mouth numerous times and seen some sharks but they always zipped off. Just have to remember your not far from Fraser island or double island point, home to some huge KEN sharks!
shart... i nearly sharted..... 
i don't think that map is complete. i was on the way back from noosa a few years back and stopped in at coolum for a surf.
anyways, i didn't feel right and drove home. next day friends in noosa rang to see if i had gone out becasue a guy had his foot bitten about the time i would of been paddling out.
that attack is not on the map.
Sheesh, and what the hell are ken sharks?? Yeh, the shark I saw was very zippy, and just zipped away. Maybe I scared it? it was just pretty dark, almost black in colour. Pretty sleek and thinish. Okay, how do I open that file in google earth??
sorry guys here is the link
06133382477616918317.googlegroups.com/attach/129a3976f7d1d37d/416247.kmz?part=3&vt=ANaJVrE_OeA-ozio-QkWv9kb-pVv2cz3YQnHPmWq0DzDtrKTzMut7RbRzbYnELbUC0l6eLJBV4cn9sNVzbV6w5bMw3J4b2UgH1WeUrhdpdgFakHgKwKnMcA
you will need to have google earth installed.
Dame, ok so how often and how many times do you see sharks in this place? lol im not used to it. ha ha ha. Should I freak out or not?
Chooo wee!! I scuba dive, lol. I should know these things.
Tiger sharks aye? Yikes!
more bad news...
(2007)
Annual shark net figures released
The Department of Primary Industries has released its annual figures of sharks caught through its shark control program.
The Department of Primary Industries has released its annual figures of sharks caught through its shark control program.
While Townsville led the State with the highest number of tiger sharks last year, that title has now gone to the Mackay region. There were 24 tigers caught this year in Townsville, and 32 in Mackay.
A haul of 75 sharks was caught on drumlines between The Strand, Pallarenda and on Magnetic Island.
Yeppoon had the highest number of sharks, and 80 have been caught there in the past financial year.
One third of the sharks caught in Townsville waters were tiger-sharks. There were also hammerheads and bullsharks, all considered maneaters.
The largest was a 4.2m tiger shark caught in Alma Bay in May.
"There is a fairly healthy tiger shark population throughout the state," DPI shark control manager Tony Ham said.
"They certainly make up the bulk of the catch in terms of numbers."
All the tiger sharks were caught on Magnetic Island, nine at Florence Bay and eight at Horseshoe Bay.
"Most of the gear is out around the island," Mr Ham said.
"There are only 15 drumlines along The Strand and Pallarenda. There are another 42 around the island.
"You'd sort of expect these figures, but tiger sharks are known to hang around headlands, rocky point areas, rather than inshore in Townsville."
The figures follow reports last month that some recreational fishermen were deliberately baiting for tiger sharks off The Strand.
Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin said he hoped the statistics would make beachgoers more conscious about where and when they swam as sharks became more active during summer.
"As the weather heats up people are always tempted to swim wherever they find a cool place to take a dip," Mr Mulherin said.
"People need to be aware of the possible dangers that lurk below the surface.
"I would strongly encourage people to think carefully about where and when they swim."
He said swimming near river mouths, in canals, and artificial lakes and waterways was dangerous.
"People should also be aware that the bigger and more aggressive sharks, particularly tiger sharks, follow whales migrating south at this time of year," Mr Mulherin said.
"This brings these species closer to shore and may mean increased activity around the shark control equipment.
"Shark control equipment is designed to capture these large and dangerous shark species, therefore activities such as swimming, windsurfing, or board paddling near the gear is extremely dangerous."
Yeppoon had the highest number of sharks, and 80 have been caught there in the past financial year.
I use the drum line buoys (with the big hook and slab of horse) as my gybe marker off our beach.
BTW - I personally believe the government should get rid of the drum lines altogether. The logic fails me - lets put a big slab of meat on a hook 200 metres off the beach to lure the sharks in close so we can catch them. My preference is to just keep a buoy there with nothing under the water to maintain a psychological barrier for those misguided individuals who actually believe it to be a deterent.
Townsville and Mackay hey, well here in Bowen, right smack in the middle, there are no shark lines/drums so I guess there are no sharks here, and I suppose the 14 foot Tiger local Pro's caught of our front beach was lost, maybe he confused our reef marker with a big orange float and was looking for a bit of horse on his way to T'vlle or Mackay.
That scenario works in my head anyway.
DUDE THATS NOT COOL HEY 
Unfortunatley i live in Townsville and i hear about this stuff in the papers all the time. Tiger sharks eat turtles and i usually see about 2 -4 turtles each time i go out windsurfing. Even though i am more freaked out about the Jellies in the summer, and the crocs that get seen off the beach, the tigers are always in the back of my mind.
Well I guess it will do two things to my windsurfing.... speed up my waterstarts and motivate me to gybe alot better
Sometimes you dont need to windsurf in huge waves and do triple forwards for it to be an extreme sport 
Some pretty recent savage attacks in and around Adelaide. I encountered a small (1-1.5m) shark of some kind at Noarlunga on Sunday, he seemed more bothered by me than I of it. Amazing to see though.
sausage..... omg
all.....
well probably i shouldn't have posted that shark info. google is both a positive and negative influence in my life. 
we got loads of sharks here in brissy also. my local spot is full of the damn things. and yes it freaks me out sometimes......
i do have a shark story.
was windsurfing mooloolaba a few years back. sailed out past the shark nets and stacked a jump.
while i was waterstarting and kicking my legs i found a solid footing and stepped up onto my board. to be honest i completely shat myself.
i kept sailing out to sea and then did a very shakey gybe then sailed straight back into the beach. i think i may have found god on the way back in. well i made some promises anyways.
when i landed i started to pack up my kit and told a mate i stood on something while waterstarting. he said it was probably a dugong.
i thought cool, that's alright then. and told him it felt like neoprene sandpaper.
to which he said, oh! well that's probably a shark! i continued rolling up my sail and went home.
all i can say is that whatever i stepped onto was very solid but i will never know what it was. if i ever get the opportunity to feel shark skin then i'll know as i have never forgotten what it felt like.
Gestalt, thats crazy!!! I would have totaly freaked out. How big did it feel? lol? It just very well may have been a shark hey. lol. Was the water merky? Hectic man, the shark must have been curious as to what was going on.
. You actually posted as i was typing mine, i was actually referring to Gestalt's post about Townsville's shark population!! (in good humour of course) .
Once again...Check the shark deaths vs. car crash deaths stats, now are we all scared of driving?
live by the statistic...
Look at the % of population that use the road & how regularly they are using it per death.
Then compare it to how many swim in coastal water & time they spend in water per injury by shark.
Lets just call it a day there shall we lads? I saw a lot of un identifyable shadows on the bottom on an SUP downwinder last night, some of them appeared to move. (eyes shut, "its only sea weed, its only sea weed, it won't bite...). Ignorance is definately better in this case!
