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Surfers want beach lifestyle saved

WA's love affair with the ocean and the benefits it brings are at risk of being eroded because of shark attacks, says the head of the State's peak surfing body.

Surfing WA chief executive Mark Lane said yesterday there had been a "loss of perspective" in the debate about drum lines as sides became polarised around pro and anti-culling.

Mr Lane said Surfing WA had never advocated a cull but argued there needed to be solutions aimed at safeguarding lives and people's enjoyment of the ocean.


Drum lines. File picture: The West Australian


"While there's not a surfer I know who wouldn't do everything they can to protect the environment, there is a fine line between protecting the environment to the stage you can't use it," he said.

"The ocean does bring mankind great benefits - health and wellbeing being a couple."

The comments came after it emerged the Barnett Government had abandoned its expanded drum-line proposal by withdrawing it from Federal environmental assessment.

Mr Lane said the compromise to allow WA to use drum lines unilaterally in cases of imminent threat showed common sense.

Longer term, he urged the Government to look at other ways to protect ocean users, including but not limited to drum lines.

"The issue still is that the growth of the shark population in our waters remains a serious risk for all users of the ocean and a greater risk than it's ever been in my 40 years of surfing regularly," Mr Lane said.