An ocean without sharks is a frightening place

For over 420 million years, sharks and rays have roamed our oceans, maintaining balance in ever-changing marine ecosystems.

Australia is home to 322 species of sharks and rays, with 51% of these unique to our waters. However, this shark and ray hotspot faces many threats.

Unsustainable fishing for ‘fish and chips’ and the shark fin trade, bycatch in industrial longline, trawl and gillnet fisheries and the shark culling programs on the east coast are all depleting shark and ray numbers here in Australia and threatening several species with extinction.

These shark culling programs, consisting of shark nets and traditional baited drumlines, are ineffective at reducing the risk of shark bite, and disastrous for marine wildlife. The majority of animals killed are harmless sharks, rays, turtles and dolphins and many are threatened with extinction.

In New South Wales, 51 shark nets nylon-filament gillnets are installed at ocean beaches from Newcastle to Sydney and Wollongong. This includes world-famous beaches such as Bondi and Manly.

Shark nets are also used at ocean beaches in south-east Queensland as a part of the Shark Control Program, which operates traditional drumlines across the state, including within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. In Queensland, the shark nets are even left in place over winter and commonly entangle and traumatise migrating humpback whales.

The pros and cons of shark nets have been debated. The scientific verdict is however, clear. Shark Nets do not reduce the risk of shark bite. HSI Australia leads the campaign to end these lethal shark “control” programs in New South Wales and Queensland.

Modern beach-safety measures such as surveillance drones, personal shark deterrents, technology-driven alert systems, and education programs are successfully operating and reducing risk at our beaches, keeping ocean-users and wildlife safe. SMART or Catch Alert Drumlines are also installed and send signals to contractors who release animals caught and relocate potentially dangerous sharks. The lethal shark nets and traditional drumlines are redundant, killing animals unnecessarily and should be removed.

We work with local councils and beach communities to persuade the New South Wales and Queensland Governments to rely on modern beach safety measures and get the #NetsOutNow. In 2019, we were successful in a legal challenge against the operation of lethal drumlines in the Great Barrier Reef — read the full story.

HSI Australia is also campaigning to end the unsustainable exploitation and bycatch of sharks and rays in Australia’s industrial fisheries. Our work is responsible for the protection of shark and ray species on Australia’s state and federal environment laws and international treaties such as the UN conventions for migratory species and trade in endangered species (CMS and CITES). The great white, grey nurse, scalloped hammerhead, Maugean skate and school shark are just some of the species listed as a result of our scientific nominations.

Since 2018 HSI Australia’s shark conservation work has been generously supported by the  in a partnership with the Australian Marine Conservation Society.

• • Take action here to tell NSW and QLD to stop shark culling
  • View our fact sheet and share with your family and friends. 
  • Become a Shark Champion, and help us protect Australia’s sharks and rays.