SYDNEY, Oct 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - An Australian man has been charged with
stealing a monitoring tag from a great white shark, reportedly setting off a
string of false shark alarms in Western Australia.

  Police in the town of Albany charged the 48-year-old man with stealing an
"acoustic monitor tag" used to track great white sharks off the coast, they
said in a statement received Wednesday.

  He is to face Albany magistrates court on November 4.

  Tagged sharks trigger an alarm when they swim within range of a network of
34 receivers dotted along the West Australian coast, giving people real-time
warnings of the danger at key locations.

  Though police gave no further details, a report in the West Australian
newspaper said the man removed the tag when he caught a great white shark by
mistake and then released it alive.

  The tag then allegedly set off shark alarms seven times between August 13
and September 4, the paper said.