Campaign to remove ’nets of death’

Friends of Kurrawyba, a new Terrigal-based community group, has launched a petition calling for the NSW Government to permanently remove “shark meshing” from NSW beaches from the end of April in this year (2024).

24 April 2024

 

THE group will be holding a gathering this Sunday, April 28, to raise public awareness about why we need to stop pretending that these “bather protection nets” or “shark nets” protect swimmers, when what they really do is injure and kill endangered and protected species.

 

Friends of Kurrawyba Spokesperson, Izabela Sajdok, who is a local artist, will be on Terrigal Beach from 8am Sunday morning to create a painting showing the damage that shark nets inflict upon rays, turtles, dolphins, and protected sharks, including the Greynurse.

 

“If you love the ocean and its creatures, you will know that these nets, that are supposed to protect swimmers from sharks, give nothing but a false sense of security,” she said.

 

“To use the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ own words:

 

*‘The nets are 150 metres long by 6 metres deep and have a mesh size of 60 cm. They are a ‘sunk net’ set below the surface in about 10 to 12 metres of water, within 500 metres of the shore.

 

*‘The nets do not stretch from one end of a beach to the other. They are not designed to create a total barrier between bathers and sharks.’

 

“In other words, sharks can swim under, over and around these nets,” Ms Sajdok said.

 

She said the community event on April 28 coincides with the time of year (end of April) when the nets are removed from 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong.

 

“Friends of Kurrawyba want the community to join our campaign to make this the last time the nets are removed and that they never go back in our waters. Our petition is live on the NSW Legislative Assembly website and we have until 4 July to gather as many signatures as possible so this issue can be debated in the Legislative Council,” she said.

 

“Our petition has the support of Greens MLC, Cate Faehrmann, and we are hoping that swimmers, divers, fishers and all who love our beaches and ocean will support our cause.

 

“It is not well known that the shark meshing program is listed as a KEY THREATENING PROCESS in the NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994 and the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. www.friendsofkurrawyba.com

 

“For example, for the 2022-23 season (the most recent available), only 24 ‘target’ sharks were caught by the nets but another 204 ‘non-target interactions’ occurred, with 51 individuals of this total representing species that are threatened – White Sharks, Greynurse Sharks, Leatherback Turtles, Loggerhead Turtles, Green Turtles, Seals and a Great Hammerhead Shark.

 

“Protected species including Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins and Common Dolphins were also victims or ‘bycatch’ of the program for 2022-23. This type of bycatch is a common, long-running impact of the meshing program. Shark mesh does much more killing than protecting.

 

“If protecting the biodiversity of our oceans is important to you, please support our campaign to end shark meshing. There are many other ways the NSW Government could spend money to protect swimmers without such unsustainable levels of bycatch.”

 

The Friends of Kurrawyba will be at Terrigal Beach (near the surf club) from 8am to 12pm on Sunday, 28 April, to gather signatures for the petition.They will also have information sheets about the shark meshing program, colouring-in activities for the kids and an opportunity for a casual swim.

 

Sign the petition here; go to their website here.