Thousands of people brandishing hand-painted posters, inflatable shark toys, shark hats and other shark-related paraphernalia braved the heat of Manly Beach on Saturday to protest at the West Australian government’s shark cull.

‘‘Crooks use hooks’’ declared one sign, ‘‘Barnett can bite me’’ declared another, while in the distance a woman in a head-to-toe shark costume wandered on Manly’s packed promenade.

Protesters gather at Manly beach to denounce Western Australia's new policy to catch and kill sharks. Credit:Damian Shaw

The colourful crowd assembled on the sand was one of a series of gatherings held across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to protest against Western Australia’s decision to capture and shoot large sharks caught in drum lines one kilometre from the state’s shores. The decision follows a string of fatal shark attacks in recent years.

The first shark was caught and killed on Australia Day.