Large sharks in beach 'kill zones' will be hunted The WA Government is planning to get tougher on protected great white sharks, including baiting within 1km of popular beaches. FEDERAL environment minister Greg Hunt says the Commonwealth was happy to "consider" the WA government's new shark strategy but emphasised it was not taking white sharks off the threatened species list. Premier Colin Barnett and fisheries minister Troy Buswell revealed today that professional fisherman would be allowed to kill a shark that ventured into designated "kill zones." They also announced that bait lines would be deployed from January one kilometre off the shore in a bid to capture sharks but stopped short of saying what they would do to those sharks one they had been caught. The Sunday Times revealed at the weekend that Mr Hunt had not spoken with any minister from the state government over our shark problem, despite the Premier saying last week that discussions with the Commonwealth had taken place. Mr Hunt told PerthNow that had since spoken with Mr Buswell over the state's plans, however he did not say that had been given approval. I have spoken with Minister Buswell. We are happy to consider life saving measures such as drum lines and other action to prevent imminent threats to surfers and swimmers," he said. Human life must be paramount. However, we are not revising the threatened species list or legislation, and that has already been agreed with the Minister. WA shark attack victim Chris Boyd, originally from Queensland's Sunshine Coast. 'Kill zones' for popular beaches Earlier today, the WA Government declared that large sharks that swim into designated ``kill zones" near popular swimming and surfing beaches in WA will be hunted by professional fishermen. The new tough approach to sharks in WA waters comes after the death of surfer Chris Boyd in Gracetown late last month - the 11th fatal attack in WA waters in the past ten years. And just minutes after the Government announcement a surf-skier in Mandurah was menaced by a large shark just metres off the beach near Mandurah Surf Lifesaving Club. Two 'Marine Monitored Areas', stretching 1km off shore from Quinns to Warnbro in the metro area, and Forest Beach to Cape Naturaliste and Prevelly in the state's south, will be established. Any shark over three metres sighted in these areas will be automatically hunted by professional fishermen, who will have a licence to kill the animal. Drum lines - drums with a baited hook fixed to the ocean floor designed to attract sharks - will be placed 1km from the shore off beaches and surf breaks, and will be monitored daily by commercial fishermen. And in the event of a shark attack, more boats will be deployed to attempt to catch the threatening animal. ``The safety of human life and beachgoers must come first," Premier Colin Barnett said. A protest at parliament pleaded for Mr Barnett not to order a general cull of sharks. That came after a delegation of Margaret River surfers and businessmen called for a cull of great whites that come close to shore at swimming and surf beaches. Outgoing fisheries minister Troy Buswell said the new policies were rolled out after talking with the federal government about the state's new policy thinking - but denied the measures constituted a cull. ``This does not represent a culling of sharks. Last year, the WA government responded to an unprecedented spate of fatalities - six deadly shark attacks within two years - with plans to catch and kill any deemed an ``imminent threat. None have been caught, despite searches after Esperance abalone diver Greg Pickering was mauled by a suspected great white in October, and last month's fatal attack on Mr Boyd. Shark culling divides opinion The state government has come under fire for its catch-and-kill orders, although the increased mitigation policies including increased air patrols have cost an estimated $20 million. And local experts say a cull would be a pointless reaction, and that a surge in shark-bite incidents off WA's coast are linked to the growing population, which means more people in the water. Sea Shepherd Australia director Jeff Hansen was among a small group of protesters who gathered at WA's parliament to pre-empt an announcement from the state government to amend its imminent threat policy for sharks. ``My daughter, who turns three this week, will be horrified if she learns that the Premier (Colin) Barnett wants to go out and kill Bruce," he told the crowd. Mr Hansen said the conservation activist group would look at the legalities surrounding any shark policy changes, including a cull, but said they were not yet at the stage of interfering with fisherman catching sharks in the way they do with whales. Western Australians for Shark Conservation founder Ross Weir told reporters he had provided the premier with feedback from the top five great white shark experts in the world. ``All of which have advised him that this approach is not going to have any positive benefit for beachgoers or the sharks," he said. Although there was pressure from tourism groups demanding a shark cull, Mr Weir said it would be better to conduct further research to learn more about sharks, including where they breed. Mr Weir said great whites were vulnerable to extinction and could be wiped out in the next 20 years if action was not taken now to protect them. The protesters also said dogs, mosquitoes and jellyfish killed more people than sharks every year. Greens WA spokeswoman Lynn MacLaren said the state and federal Greens were watching the issue closely.