What began in 1937 as a misguided public safety measure, is now a drawn-out, destructive and cruel vestige of a bygone era.
Hundreds of marine animals die each year in the shark nets at 51 ocean beaches in Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong. We are not talking about the shark barriers at harbour beaches which are confusingly also called shark nets. The shark nets we’re talking about are 100 metre long fishing nets installed 500 metres off ocean beaches from 1st September to 31st March and are designed to cull sharks. Nine out ten animals entangled are not target species – with far more turtles, dolphins and rays caught than the sharks these nets are intended for.
While acting as death traps for wildlife, shark nets are incapable of reducing the risk of shark bite. Far from being a barrier they are tiny compared to the size of the beach. Sharks regularly swim past them and come into shore. Recent research has shown that there is NO DIFFERENCE in the frequency of shark bites between netted and non-netted beaches. Shark nets provide nothing more than a false sense of security.
NSW has invested significantly in non-lethal technologies that can actually reduce the risk of shark bite. Drones patrol beaches, SMART drumlines relocate sharks off shore and listening stations can detect tagged sharks. One or more of these technologies are currently used at every single netted beach. Not only are share nets cruel and ineffective but they are redundant.
Tell the NSW Government that it’s time to ditch the nets and bring shark bite risk reduction into the 21st century.
