Shark net, Terrigal - Photograph courtesy Robert Westerdyk.

14 August 2024

 

THE Friends of Kurrawyba in their recent petition tabled in parliament claim that Premier Minns and the Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty have to justify the return of shark nets along NSW beaches.

 

“We thank Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann for tabling our petition on 6 August and we look forward to hearing the government’s justification for deciding to return these ‘nets of death’ to our beaches in September,” said Friends of Kurrawyba spokesperson, Izabela Sajdok.

 

The NSW Government has decided to return shark nets to 51 NSW beaches from 1 September and remove them a month earlier than usual at the end of March.

 

“Premier Minns’ statement that he needs more evidence that the alternatives to shark nets will provide at-scale swimmer safety before he agrees to permanently remove this archaic technology is a nonsense,” Ms Sajdok said.

 

“He and Fisheries Minister Tara Moriarty need to focus on the irrefutable evidence they do have, from their own department, that shark nets kill and injure threatened and endangered marine species while doing absolutely nothing to protect swimmers.”

 

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program 2023-24 Annual Performance Report shows that, of the 116 marine creatures caught in nets on Central Coast beaches only eight were target sharks (white sharks in this instance with not one Tiger Sharks caught).

 

That left 108 non-target species including five critically endangered Greynurse Sharks, four endangered Leatherback Turtles and 1 Loggerhead Turtle. Then there were the vulnerable species: 2 Great Hammerhead Shark, 4 Green Turtle and 1 Humpback Whale. Protected/non-target species were also trapped: a Comm Dolphin and a Hawksbill Turtle.

 

Meanwhile, the Australian Shark Incident Database shows that the last fatal incident for the whole of Australia was in 2023 at Ethel Beach on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. There have been two injuries in NSW this year.

 

“When will the NSW Government have some courage and take us out of the Dark Ages? Political fear is the only motivation for continuing the shark mesh program,” Ms Sajdok said.

 

“Minns and Moriarty need to look no further than what happens on beaches when the nets are absent from April until September – nothing. Every day, thousands of people swim in the ocean, all through winter, but the incidence of shark attack does not change.

 

“There is no major spike in shark attacks when the nets are taken away and no reduction when the nets are put back. Surely that is all the evidence the Premier needs?”

 

The government’s shark program costs $25 million each year including the nets and other measures such as smart drumlines, drones, and education.

According to Friends of Kurrawyba, the percentage of that budget spent on nets should be diverted into an effective and marine-friends drone program.

 

Communities up and down the Coast are opposed to shark nets. "We know they don’t work and we will continue to campaign for their permanent removal,” Ms Sajdok said.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE to the Grapevine News Online and to the monthly e-book edition of the Grapevine Community Weekly. Our online news platform and monthly newspaper is about real local news and events. We will not spam you or share your details with third parties.