Friday, 19 August, 2022
12562922-JW33-22
Thinking of selling? You know who to call
Honouring a Tewantin treasure
Cartoonist rocks the boat
Bike enthusiasts unite
32-page lift out Property Guide
PAGE 4
PAGES 6-7
PAGE 40
INSIDE
PR OP ER TY
Noosa’s karate kid wins gold By Phil Jarratt To her dad and family friends she’s the pocket rocket. To her mates at Karate Noosa she’s known as Speedy. To avoid confusion here let’s just call Sophia Innis national champion. Sophia, 13, from Peregian Springs, is one of a new breed of local sporting juniors winning national honours this month, from the dojos of Rockhampton to the surf beaches of Port Macquarie. But Sophia was first, winning individual gold and team silver at the Australian Karate Federation National Championship in Rockhampton over the first weekend of August, competing in her age group (12/13) and fighting in the under 42kg division. In addition to her gold medal in kumite (sparring), Sophia won a silver medal in teams’ kumite, and placed a respectable fourth in kata (forms) in this, her first competition at national level, following cancellations of the nationals during Covid. Not that Speedy let the grass grow under her feet. She’s consistently won gold for both kumite and kata at regional and state level over the past four years. Standing only 148cm tall and weighing just 32kgs, Sophia is invariably one of the smallest competitors in her age group but, according to coach Bryan Dukas, only hardens her resolve to be better at her craft. Continued page 8
Karate champion Sophia Innis.
Picture: ROB MACCOLL
Locals know best 12497020-DL22-21
Listen to the locals, was the key message that came out of last week’s two-day SharkSmart workshop, hosted by the Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation. Following on from the first Noosa workshop last March, this one focused on fine-tuning messaging that combined local knowledge with scientific evidence in an attempt to increase awareness of real shark dangers, even in apparently benign waters like Noosa’s. Led by shark expert Dr Andrew Chin from the Centre for Sustainable Tropical Fisheries and Aquaculture at James Cook University, Townsville, the workshops were built around
his relatively recent experience in community consultation in shark attack hot spots like Ballina and Byron Bay on the NSW northern rivers and Cid Harbour in the Whitsundays. “While the shark attacks at Cid Harbour were all related to diving and snorkelling and were exclusively tourists, I worked with the Byron and Ballina communities after they had a terrible run of shark incidents involving surfers, looking at the profound effects that had had on their communities, but also trying to get their perspective on what was safe and what wasn’t in local surf breaks,” Dr Chin told the workshop.
“We realised very quickly that the information that we had in the science community did not match what the local community said. “That makes a lot of sense because scientists can’t be everywhere and animals behave differently in different places. The importance of local knowledge really came through from that experience.” The correlation of local knowledge and scientific knowledge is part of a new approach to shark safety in Queensland. After more than 60 years of almost total reliance on outmoded shark nets and drumlines, the new plan embraces a broad palette of technologies like
drones and smart drums, plus a new approach to awareness and education programs that emphasises sharks are not the enemy – when we go into the ocean we are sharing their space. Speaking to a diverse group of marine stakeholders, ocean user groups, tourism authorities and local politicians – most of who had a love of surfing in common – Dr Chin outlined the conventional science about why and where sharks bite and then challenged it with local knowledge from Byron and Ballina, adding Noosa elements from the group as he went. Continued page 3