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"Effluents piped into Port Shelter from a series of locations along the eastern shore of the Sai Kung peninsula also are attractive. Such water-bome 'odours' are highly provocative to sharks and probably elicit more agitated feeding behaviour. And the reported reduction in availability of large fishes in the region likely limits the sharks' chances of finding natural prey items.
"If a shark encounters an appropriately sized human in the area, especially in the early morning or late afternoon hours when sharks are known to regularly feed, then an attack can occur. Five of the last six attacks have occurred during these time periods," he added.
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Since the late May early June time period is well documented as the time period when shark attack is most likely to occur, Mr Burgess proposed a number of measures to reduce the chances of future attacks in Hong Kong waters. These include:
E:
When water temperatures reach 24°C, consideration should be given to raising shark warnings at Sai Kung beaches, vigilance should be stepped up, and these precautionary measures should remain in force possibly until the end of June. If sharks are sighted after this date further warnings may be warranted.
Consideration should be given to increasing the capability to deal quickly with shark attack victims in the Sai Kung area.
Biological studies focusing on the seasonal composition and abundance of the shark community in the Sai Kung region should be undertaken to provide the biological information so badly needed in determining migration patterns and life histories of the sharks in question. Monthly sampling should be taken with additional samples obtained during late May and early June. A sonic tag study of individual sharks captured during the critical May-June period would yield significant insight into their local movements.
Initiation of a demersal trawl survey with monthly sampling should be undertaken in the Sai Kung region in order to gain a better understanding of resource richness and seasonal composition of the fishery resource.
Environmental monitoring of water quality parameters in the sea surrounding the Sai Kung District should be undertaken on a monthly basis.