A federal MP has declared open season on sharks after Monday's fatal mauling of a Victorian doctor in Queensland's Whitsunday Islands region.
Daniel Christidis, 33, was bitten at Cid Harbour on the first day of a yachting holiday with friends and colleagues by an unknown species of shark.
Despite the frantic efforts by his travelling companions, Mr Christidis died from his injuries shortly after being flown by helicopter to Mackay Base Hospital.
In response to the attacks, LNP Member for the Queensland seat of Hinkler Keith Pitt wants sharks to be culled in the region.
"I've had local fishos telling me the sharks are in plague proportion," Mr Pitt told The Courier-Mail.
File photo Source: AAP
"They are an apex predator and we should thin them out."
Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner categorically ruled out a cull as an option.
"By no reasons would I support a shark cull," Mr Furner told the ABC.
"That's way over the top. There's no science or reason behind that. There would be no guarantees of safety by introducing a shark cull."
Mr Furner will join Tourism Minister Kate Jones on Friday for a meeting with experts to discuss how to best manage shark populations in the area.
The LNP opposition has asked for a parlimentary review of the state government's shark control program.
Mr Furner defended the program, calling it "highly successful", but said there was no plan to extend the program into the Whitsundays.
The government has also resisted calls to install drumlines at Cid Harbour, instead announcing plans to install signs warning people not to swim at the location.
"The best advice we have in place ... is under no circumstances - do not swim in Cid Harbour."
Katter Australian Party's Queensland leader Robbie Katter said Mr Furner's reluctance to extend the shark control program to the Whitsundays was "ridiculous".
Mr Katter said he would like a cull to at least be considered by the state government.
"It's not something we celebrate as a party, I don't enjoy killing animals, but when it becomes a point of the humans versus the animals, if you want to distil it down to the real problem, someone's got to make the call to take those hard decisions," he told the ABC.
Mr Christidis's brother has used social media to pay tribute to the aspiring Melbourne cancer specialist.
"Daniel was all about getting everything meticulously right in life; to live deeply and fully, which he did," he said on Instagram on Wednesday.
"If you knew my brother, you know just how much the world is at a loss right now."
