I wouldn't swim off SW: Minister

Contractors use drum lines to catch a shark.

WA’s Tourism Minister says he would not go surfing or swimming far off South West beaches for fear of sharks.

A week after Premier Colin Barnett labelled South West beaches “unsafe”, acting Tourism Minister John Day said the region still had plenty of other attractions like wineries, forests and looking at the coastline.

MPs QUIBBLE OVER 'ROGUE SHARKS'

Last Thursday after the Environmental Protection Authority recommended drum lines be discontinued in WA, Mr Barnett said he was confident metropolitan beaches were as safe as they could reasonably be.

But he said the difficulty of aerially patrolling rugged coast around Dunsborough, the Capes region and Albany, where sharks appeared to be hanging around for longer, meant he could not say South West beaches were safe.

Today, Mr Day said WA’s recent history of seven fatal shark attacks in three years – four of which were in the South West – demonstrated there was “certainly a risk”, but he encouraged people to holiday there.

“There are plenty of things you could do in the South West without going far into the ocean,” he said.

“It’s still a very lovely area with a lot of wonderful wineries, forests, and other tourism amenities so the beach culture is only one aspect of South West tourism.”

Asked if he was suggesting people should holiday in the South West but not go to the beaches, Mr Day said that was a personal decision.

“If it was me I would not be surfing or going swimming far off the coast,” he said.

Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association marketing manager Simon Latchford said WA roads were not described as unsafe, despite deaths occurring on them.

“We’re losing context,” he said.

“There are many, many places down here that are as reasonably safe as anyone could dictate. I can’t guarantee that, and I think 99 per cent of Australians could live with that.

“Would I negatively say ‘do not go on south west beaches’? Absolutely not. Would I allow my family to go on a South West beach and have a normal family day’? absolutely yes.”