After years of work with the help of our supporters, the New South Wales Government has asked three councils to choose one beach that they would like to see net-free for this next season—Waverley, Northern Beaches and Central Coast.
What began in 1937 as a misguided public safety measure, shark nets are a destructive and cruel vestige of a bygone era. Rather than barriers, they are 150 metre-long fishing nets installed 500 metres off ocean beaches from September to March and are designed to entangle and kill sharks.Â
Shark nets are indiscriminate and deadly. Hundreds of marine animals die each year in the shark nets at 51 ocean beaches in Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong including many endangered species. In fact, 90 per cent of the animals caught in shark nets are not the target shark species. Most animals die. Â
While acting as death traps for wildlife, shark nets are incapable of reducing the risk of shark bite. In trapping marine animals, they are in fact attracting sharks closer to shore.  Â
Recent research has shown that there is NO DIFFERENCE in the frequency of shark bites between netted and non-netted beaches. Sharks can easily swim around them and get to the shore. Shark nets provide nothing more than a false sense of security.Â
The good news is that the New South Wales government has invested significantly in non-lethal technologies that can actually reduce the risk of shark bite. Drones patrol beaches, target sharks are tagged and tracked, which listening stations can then detect. One or more of these technologies are currently used at every single netted beach. There are also SMART drumlines at all of the netted beaches catching and relocating target sharks. Not only are share nets cruel and ineffective but they are redundant.Â
The lead up to the reinstallation of shark nets on September 1st is a critical moment for marine wildlife. Help us to ensure swift action from the Minns Government, to listen to the call of the Central Coast, Northern Beaches and Waverley Councils and get the Nets Out Now!
Please sign the action form to let Premier Chris Minns, Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty, and your local MP, know you strongly support their decision to remove a shark net from beaches in Waverley, the Northern Beaches and the Central Coast this summer.
