KEY POINTS:
A species of deadly shark has become so numerous in Australia that locals are catching them by dangling a line from apartment balconies and back gardens.
Bull sharks are so prevalent in the creeks and canals of the Gold Coast in Queensland that "high-rise hunters" are snaring three
or four a night as they watch television, play pool and drink beer.
Amateur anglers have caught 3m sharks with nothing more sophisticated than a pork chop taken from the barbecue and attached to a hook.
It may rank as some of the easiest game fishing in the world, but there are fears that the holiday destination's growing popularity will result in fatalities as more people come into contact with the highly aggressive predators.
Two people swimming in the Gold Coast's brackish canals were killed by the sharks in 2003, and a young woman was mauled to death off nearby Stradbroke Island last year. Bull sharks are equally at home in salt water and fresh water.
"There are thousands of them," said Paul Burt, a fishing expert. "You could catch 10 a night if you wanted to. They're unpredictable bastards. They'll bite your boat, chew your engine.
"They're a nutcase of a shark. People catch them as they're cooking their snags [sausages] and prawns on the barbie. It's very ocker, very Aussie."
The Gold Coast consists of a spaghetti tangle of artificial lakes and canals, with apartment blocks and villas backing on to the water in suburbs such as Miami, Paradise Point, Mermaid Waters and Isle of Capri.
"If you go for a swim, there's a high risk of being bitten," said Burt. "Quite often while fishing you pull up a fish and it won't make it back to the boat. The sharks will get it."
Many locals do not even bother with a boat. Robbie Hughes, 26, has caught a dozen sharks from his sixth-floor balcony in between playing video games and watching television.
As soon as a shark is hooked, a friend races down the stairs of the apartment block and hooks it with a gaff.
Saeed Granfar baits his fishing line with chopped up eel, fixes it to a pontoon extending from his back garden and retreats to the comfort of his living room to watch DVDs.
"It's definitely lazy man's fishing," said the 24-year-old architecture student. "My mum doesn't like it much because I keep breaking vases and things as I run through the living room to the jetty. The reel takes off at about 100km/h - it's a huge adrenaline rush."
In 10 years he has caught nearly 100 sharks. Some he eats, but most he throws back.
With more than 500km of canals and waterways snaking their way along the Gold Coast, installing nets to prevent the sharks entering from the ocean is impractical.
Instead, there are calls for a "bull shark classic", a monthly tournament in which fishers would be invited from around Australia and abroad to catch the predators.
Bull sharks' aggression make them an excellent game fishing species, Kurt Mitchell, who runs Gold Coast Extreme Shark Fishing Safaris, said. "They hone in on the bait and hit it like a tonne of bricks.
"You have to fight them for up to an hour. It's like being hooked up to a freight train. They're very solid creatures, all head and shoulders."
Queensland authorities believe the bull shark population is increasing, as new canals are excavated, expanding the species' habitat.
But fisheries officials say there are no plans to cull the sharks and that the inhabitants of the Gold Coast must simply learn to live with the potential man-eaters.
