A 1.8-metre tiger shark found decapitated at the end of a popular tourist jetty in Western Australia has prompted calls to expand a recent shark fishing ban to include the South West region.

Warning: This article includes images readers may find distressing.

This month, the state government enforced a ban on wire trace shark fishing at Perth beaches, stretching from South Mandurah to just north of Two Rocks in the metropolitan area.

At the weekend, local diver Aaron Goodhew recovered a mutilated tiger shark carcass at Busselton Jetty — just eight metres from a ladder entrance to the water — before capturing a photo of it in front of one of the jetty’s underwater sculptures.

“I removed it from the water and I took it back to the beach away from where all the kids were,” he said.

“Then I just basically wrapped it up in an old curtain and just got it off the beach and took it away.”

Mr Goodhew found another shark beheaded in a similar incident at Busselton Jetty last year.

Knowing his young daughter uses the same area for snorkelling, he has called on the state government to extend Perth’s shore-based shark fishing ban to include the South West.

“I definitely think a ban should be extended,” Mr Goodhew said.

“What’s concerning is with the warmer weather, we see so many kids … they’re jumping in the water, they’re doing bombies not knowing that only hours before people were throwing animal parts into the water and bringing the sharks in.”

Busselton Jetty chief executive Lisa Shreeve told the ABC she was disappointed to hear about the incident.

“There are fishers that do go trophy hunting and they take the shark’s teeth out. They use special rigs, line, and bait,” she said.

“It’s just disappointing that they would do that when they know that we share the area with divers and snorkellers.”

It is not illegal in the South West to catch sharks but it is an offence to mutilate animals.

Government condemns incident

A Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) spokesperson said the government condemned the incident, and an extension of the shark fishing ban to include the South West could occur if it were deemed necessary.

“Regional locations will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesperson said.

“While not illegal, releasing a shark with its head removed is not responsible fishing behaviour.

“DPIRD encourages fishers to carefully release all unwanted fish immediately to the water unharmed and all retained fish should be dispatched humanely and kept fresh to maximise eating quality.”

Mr Goodhew said he supported fishing, but wanted people to be more careful with where and how they did it.

“I’m not against fishing. I go catch crays. I’ve got mates who fish,” he said.

“To [decapitate sharks] in swimming areas, where literally hours later there are young kids swimming is just reckless in my opinion.”