Whitsunday locals have vowed to fight any move to permanently install baited shark hooks following two mauling attacks on tourists.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday defended deploying temporary drumlines and killing six sharks in response to attacks on Justine Barwick, 46, and Hannah Papps, 12.

“Can you imagine the public outcry if anything else happened up there in that particular region during school holidays if the Department of Fisheries took no action?” Ms Palaszczuk said.

But shark experts and conservationists have questioned the effectiveness of the culling technique, saying there is no evidence that drumlines prevent attacks.

Whitsunday diver of 40 years Tony Fontes, the spokesperson for Reef Action Whitsunday, said locals would oppose any moves to permanently install drumlines in the region.

“There will be a huge local pushback against drumlines if they try to install them permanently because they are ineffective and needlessly kill sharks.”

He described the two recent maulings as “extremely bad luck”, saying there had been very few shark attacks in his many decades diving the local reefs, despite the lack of drumlines in the area.

I don’t think locals have ever seen the need for drumlines or any sort of shark deterrent,” Mr Fontes said.

“It’s not that shark attacks don’t happen. It’s just very rare. The last attack was in 2010 and before that there was one in 1997, and before that – I don’t even know.”

The Queensland Fisheries spokesperson confirmed the region is the only tourism hotspot in the state “not covered by the Shark Control Program, which operates at 85 of Queensland’s most popular beaches.

“Shark nets and drumlines are strategically placed along beaches to reduce the possibility of shark attack for swimmers.

“Given last week’s unprecedented shark incidents, the drumlines have been set as a temporary measure to remove large sharks and reduce the risk to humans.”

About 360 baited drumlines are heavily concentrated at popular beaches along the Sunshine Coast (78), Townsville (54), Mackay (27) and Cairns (38).

Justine Barwick is recovering in a Brisbane hospital. Photo: AAP

The technique – which involves a large hook loaded with bait to lure sharks – caught a total of 218 sharks in the 2017-2018 year. That includes 75 tiger sharks and 41 bull sharks, which are the two species most responsible for biting humans.

Most bull sharks and tiger sharks were dead on inspection but 39 had to be euthanised. Fourteen other sharks species were also culled as well as green turtles and large fish like trevally.

The sharks killed in Cid Harbour in recent days include five tiger sharks and one small black tip shark.

Bond University shark expert Daryl McPhee said proving the effectiveness of the Shark Control Program was difficult because it would involve undertaking comparative experiments that could put people’s lives at risk.

He said the location of drumlines was based on factors like the ease of access and finding suitable local contractors to bait and check hooks.

“There are a lot of places that don’t have shark controls.”

Dr McPhee said the number of sharks killed on baited hooks was only a “handful” compared to the quantity caught for commercial purposes.

“They are extremely low numbers,” he said.

Mr Fontes said he had “no idea” what could have caused the two recent shark attacks but a contributing factor could have been that tourists were in a “yellow zone” for swimming and fishing, which can attract sharks.

He said there were also more people diving in the yellow zone after last year’s cyclone, which “smashed” the green zones usually frequented by divers.

Fisheries Minister Mark Furner insists shark nets and baited hooks first installed at Queensland beaches in 1962 have “undoubtedly” saved lives.

The victims in last week’s attacks, which happened less than 24 hours apart, are recovering in Brisbane hospitals.