Shark beheading footage sparks calls for stricter fishing regulations in WA

Experts and fishers are calling for greater regulations after footage emerged of a shark being beheaded on Western Australia's south coast.

Warning: This article contains images of animal mutilation that may disturb some readers.

The video, published on social media, shows fishers catching and decapitating a 4-metre tiger shark at an Albany boat ramp.

Several sharks were seen in the area after a whale carcass was spotted off Goode Beach last week.

Albany recreational fisher Anthony Wise told ABC radio the act was irresponsible.

"When you have a whale carcass and some big fish hanging around there, I don't think you should be able to fish for them," he said.

The ABC contacted the fishermen in the video. They declined to comment on their catch.

A Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) spokesperson said the men had not breached any laws.

UWA researcher Mark Meekan referred to the act as "trophy hunting" and criticised the actions of the fishermen.

"Why are you catching them in the first place?" Dr Meekan said.

"These are apex predators. They are not very abundant and are very important in the ecosystem, and you can't eat the damn things."

Following reports of the whale carcass, DPIRD issued a warning to swimmers but said people were still permitted to fish in the area.

A department spokesperson said tiger sharks were not subject to size limits under the state's recreational fishing rules.

They said no more than three large pelagic finfish could be caught in the space of 24 hours and that some fishing methods were banned in highly populated areas.

That ban stretches from Two Rocks near Yanchep to Mandurah and parts of Busselton and Esperance, but not Albany.

Call for size limits

Dr Meekan said tiger sharks played an important role in the ecosystem.

"Things like dugongs and turtles modify their behaviour to avoid places where tiger sharks are common," he said.

"This has flow-through effects, as it means seagrass can grow, because it's not being eaten by these animals."

"Seagrass sequesters carbon, so when we lose that, we lose a lot of those interconnections within the environment."

Dr Meekan said size limits for tiger shark fishing should be introduced to bring them into line with other fisheries.

"The biggest of these sharks are the most reproductive and have the most young, so they do most of the breeding," he said.