To Western Australian Stardockians - Protecting Western Australia's unique marine life, and how you can help!

Tell the dimwits over there that White Pointers are a protected species.

You bunch of primitives are just as bad as the Japanese whalers.

If you swim in the ocean you get eaten.

Deal with it.

You tell 'em, Jafo!

I feel upset and somewhat concerned from this statement you made, Jafo.  It was something which I thought was beneath you.  I do not, and I sure you do not, enjoy or like being put in a spot where I get lumped into some sort of group of "crazies" (and I would think it more likely than not you have experienced something like this in the past too - and if so I do not logically know why you would like to perpetrate it on others).  And you being a moderator has nothing to do with you being allowed to be disrepectful to someone who has been on the forums for a time long enough for people to have a fair idea of what I am like as a person.  I respect the respect that generally goes on to people who interact in the Stardock forums, be that WinCustomize, JoeUser, Stardock.com itself, Sins of a Solar Empire or Elemental, as they all are linked and contribute to the feelings towards the forums, and would not like to conclude that it only sometimes the case that moderators of such Stardock forums think it necessary to respect people, especially people who have been members of the forum for a sufficiently long period of time with general good standing and engagement with the community.

And even in what you call a case of "dimwits" or "primitives", I do not think being concerned for the environment that supports us is really a good reason to get those sorts of words out of your vocabulary.  Dolphins, whales, and even protected species (yes, even White Pointer Sharks) can and do get killed by overfishing, destroying habitats and unchecked mining, and I don't think you can successfully argue otherwise.

And lastly, do you have something against West Australians?  That would be a very close to an "-ism", something DrJBHL agrees, and I do too, that the world needs less of for it to be a better place.

thought that only happened once.... after the Rottnest Is diver.... didn't think it went ahead though..did it? .. I mean, how would you know it was the same one...

my son dives often with a regular bunch of diving mates.... he and they have always told me from the outset.... if they're taken by a shark there is to be no reprisal... it's their territory and they just love the privilege of briefly sharing it... think it's like organ donation.... divers should make that point clear to families...

done...  and passed on...

diving with whales sharks is on my bucket list.... a friend's just come back from diving with them in Mexico which is supposed to be the best place... and I believe the Gulf of Aquaba is good too... it's only in the last few weeks there have been a lot of WA tourism ads on here in NSW promoting diving with whale sharks.....so.. way closer for me..

this is just as important for all Australians...not just West Australians... in fact.... these are issues for the world as a whole... 'cause we're buggering things up beautifully at the moment...can't believe what idiots we are... 

was watching a doco recently by Gordon Ramsey on the number of sharks killed for shark's fin soup...and the way they're killed...or, not killed, before being thrown back to drown.... it was horrendous.... he's managed to have the soup taken off the menu of 3 top restaurants in London.... a start... but given the numbers being killed... a drop in the ocean... he is patron of the SHARK TRUST...

thanks for bringing this to our attention StevenAus...    

great pics of the whale sharks...   link..      link..

StevenAus...it wasn't 'over fishing'...it was a deliberate sanctioned KILL authorized by the WA 'environment minister' or whatever he calls himself.

He is the one who should be 'shot'.  He is a pathetic excuse for a weak-chinned politician who is clearly more concerned about WA tourism than an Internationally accepted Protection Act.

The South and West coast of Oz, and the South coast of South Africa are the Great Whites' / White Pointers' breeding grounds.

If some dippy surfer wants to hang ten in either area he can gamble whether he'll have all his legs/toes to hang next time.

The shark has as much right to its habitat as the Whale.

We {Australians] make a BIG DEAL about that BECAUSE we are responsible for the environs of Antarctica - one bloody BIG RESERVE that the Japanese REFUSE to acknowledge....and carry on with their 'scientific experiments' there ... which strangely end up in exclusive quisine.

The 'you bunch of primitives' is aimed at whom-ever elected that government that allows this sort of crap to continue.

Rather than petitions after the fact....just don't vote the buggers in in the first place.

Yes, I get uptight about this....I remember the French engaging in an ACT OF WAR by sanctioned military action to sink the Rainbow Warrior in a foreign port [NZ].....

Just so they could continue blowing the crap out of the South Pacific with their Nukes.

And why does THAT bug me?  My old man used to walk up the street to his work each day and take fall-out readings... in Mildura...from Maralinga [that's the US and UK, of course]... so I've been crapped on by the best of them in my youth.

StevenAus, I don't think Jafo was addressing you with what he wrote, as I understood him.

I believe he was telling the bone heads who choose to dive in shark habitats to expect the sharks to be sharks, as well as to tell them that the white tips are a protected species, and therefore not to hunt them for doing (quite well) what they were designed to do.

*edit... sorry, took me a while to type...

Yeah, I think you're right.  But one thing about politicians, no matter which one/s you vote for, they are all bound to be politicians.  But the marine sanctuaries thing is Federal, and needs supporting by people in all states and territories.  And I believe this is a good chance to do something about the problem of overexposing *all* natural environments to damage - we don't need to save it all, but we do need to save enough.

. That's how I understood it too. I wouldn't have supported Jafo's comment otherwise.

Thing is, the proper shark biscuits (pols) always get 'professional courtesy'...

Beautiful creatures, aren't they? The sad thing is that no matter what degree of protection we or you afford them, superstious maroons will kill them for their fins. On Palau, their individual "worth" has been calculated at $2,000,000 apiece ALIVE, not "harvested" (as if someone planted them):

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/03/reef-sharks-generate-millions-of-tourist-dollars-for-palau/

Incidentally, just recently the Israelis have found an incredible antiviral in sharks.... and they don't have to be 'sacrificed' to learn more about it.

Beautiful shark pics:  http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/sharks/

I've heard that Manatee's have very human like vaginas.  Is that on topic, sorry I didn't actually read the post...

Even if you didn't read the post, you surely must have read the headline which reads: To Western Australian Stardockians - Protecting Western Australia's unique marine life, and how you can help!

I can't really deduce how you thought Manatees allegedly having a human-like vagina was in any way on topic. However, with regard to your subject matter, I'd suggest doing further research on the issue, contacting a helpful marine biologist, or, to get the best understanding possible, having sex with a female Manatee. Be sure to report back to us. Then again, probably best that you don't.

If you don't want to get eaten by a shark, stay out of the water. Why is it some people aren't capable of doing the simplest of things?

I have come to accept that humans will always go about doing very dumb things.  I tend to think of it as more of a natural order of things, with out it humans would have no way of thinning out the herd of the weak and mindless.  

I live in the US of A, such that it is and I've seen pics of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. One of the natural wonders of the world that can be viewed from space. How can you not want to protect that? As for Great Whites, White Pointers, Whale Sharks and all that good stuff. This was their home first like so many other indigenous groups. We are the Johnny come latelies and we claim to know what's best? I don't think so. All I can say is that I'm glad there are some people out there who believe our world needs protection both above and below the oceans. So you got my voice too.

bump....and....link..    

I support nature and would like to see the different animalspecies to live.

We humans behave like gods in that we can decide if a species live or die. Thus we have great responsibility as well.

Jafo,

I kinda like your style of posting

If the Japanese whalers are disobedient of laws, then can't you report them to someone?   Or just block them from fishing just like greenpeace or what those guys protecting the whales are called. Saw them on Discovery channel.

Well, just a Canadian here, so I can't sign the petition, but I was just in Western Australia recently, and it's an amazing place.  Ningaloo was bloody awesome.

I wish you good luck in stopping the crazies from doing irreparable damage to something their little pea-brains can't possibly understand.

International 'Law' requires signatories ... a few countries refuse to accept/sign re anti-whaling.

The 'annoying' bit is that International shipping Laws require countries NOT to deny ships access to refuelling, etc ...so those bastard whalers refuel in Australian ports and we're ham-strung.

Short of declaring war and simply sinking the ships outright we are stuck with public condemnation and ridiculing of the Japanese 'scientific research'.

It's no different to someone wanting to do a Sumatran Tiger count by shooting them all first and counting carcases.

They are not breaking any international law, by saying it's for science they can 'harvest' a set amount in our waters. They also don't recognize our arctic waters as sovereign territory. That and our government don't want to upset one of our largest trading partners, even though the Australian people want it to stop. It's just in the too hard basket.       

[edit] ... and Jafo is way too fast

Only in as much as they and a grand total of 2 other countries on this planet have refused to sign.

If it were majority rules the likes of Japan and Iceland, etc do NOT matter one iota.

have passed the link onto my newphew who is studying environmental science, for him to pass on to his uni mates.... hopefully it spreads out from there too..

works for me...

whale sashimi...   

amazing where it ends up...  remember reading that a sample was taken from a NY restaurant that was dna tested back to the 'scientific research' catch.

won't let whale meat go...     from interviews I've seen... many young Japanese are against it... won't eat it..... want whales protected.... and are ashamed of the way it makes their country look to the outside world.... suppose it will die out when the old fogies do...who want to protect their 'culture'....      

"The country has hunted whales for hundreds of years and it's a sentimental favourite with the people"..  as I'm sure the Dodo bird was..

I've heard them refer to the Minke whales as the 'cockroaches of the sea'....  

"We deal with a ruthless and cruel enemy whose very reason for being here is to inflict agonizing suffering and to deliver cruel death to gentle, sensitive, intelligent and socially complex sentient beings," the founder of Sea Shepherd and captain of its ship, Paul Watson, wrote from the Antarctic last week after clashing with whalers.

Yes, those 'socially aware' and up to speed with 'Western culture and ideals'.... probably also MORE EDUCATED and think beyond the Japanese word for whale which apparently means 'big fish' rather than 'sentient mammal that mates for life'....;p

Killing whales for hundreds of years...oh so noble.  Let them continue to do it in the TRADITIONAL way then....row boat and spear.

Get rid of those damn slaughter-houses.

Slavery was also a tradition for 'hundreds of years'.  Must keep that going then, too....;p

Killing them to 'learn about them'?  Who the hell are they kidding?   The arrogance to even THINK we are so stupid and naive.

Once upon a time there were dimwit Naturalist Explorers in Australia...who came across massively tall trees that were a thousand-odd years old....so to see just how tall they really were...they cut the fuckers down to measure them.

People are stupid.

Lets do a cull of the human race. That way we can count the bodies to see if there really is 7,000,000,000...

Who will have the privilege of doing the counting?

 the Vulcan