Shark meshing –

a key threatening process

Just off the New South Wales’ coastline, marine life silently suffer in the grips of shark nets. Yet scientific research tells us that shark nets are ineffective at reducing the risks of shark bites. Despite this, indiscriminate shark nets remain in the water and harm countless marine animals, including turtles, rays, and dolphins.

2 August 2023

 

DESPITE the unnecessary lost of marine life, from the NSW Government's Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program, which was introduced in 1937 as a public safety measure to reduce the chances of shark interactions at the State's most popular public bathing beaches, the government says they have heavily invested in modern scientifically backed shark mitigation technology. This technology the government says is to keep people safe and doesn’t harm marine life. So, why isn’t this technology being relied upon outdated shark nets removed.

 

Australia is one of the only countries in the world to actively kill sharks caught in nets and on drum lines in an attempt to protect people.

 

Australian Marine Conservation Society shark biologist Leonardo Guida says that as well as sharks, beach prevention netting is also catching dolphins, humpback whales, turtles and "other" marine animals.

 

A report from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries showed nets caught 40 target sharks — white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks — in the 2021/2022 meshing season.

 

But they also caught 335 non-target animals including turtles, rays, dolphins and fish.

 

In its present form, external contractors set large-mesh nets at the beginning of the season and check nets every three days for entangled animals, including the three target sharks but also significant amounts of bycatch. Entangled animals are often deceased, and their carcasses are dumped offshore.

 

The Community Environment Network (CEN) is urging the NSW Government NOT to award any tenders for the 2023/2024 shark meshing program in NSW waters and to announce its intention to discontinue this archaic and ineffective program.

 

“Shark meshing injures and kills more threatened and endangered species than it does the three types of sharks it is supposed to keep away from swimmers,” said CEN Chair, Mr Gary Chestnut. “And that fact comes from data gathered by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries).

 

“The substantial and unjustifiable amount of bycatch killed or injured over many years means the shark meshing program is itself listed as a key threatening process in both the NSW Fisheries Management Act 1994 and the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016,” Mr Chestnut said.

 

“How can the NSW Government continue the shark meshing program when it is known to be a threat to biodiversity and sustainability?

 

“The community knows the ‘protection’ offered by the meshing is far from shark proof and it has been shocked by the NSW DPI’s call for tenders for shark meshing for the 2023-24 season in the seven LGAs from Newcastle to Wollongong,” he said.

 

“This call for tenders, which closed on 24 July, occurred despite strong community opposition to shark meshing in the winter of 2022 and the extensive and ongoing rollout of other shark mitigation strategies.

 

“We believe the NSW Government must stop the shark meshing program, and we have written to the Minister for Agriculture (Fisheries), The Hon Tara Moriarty MLC, along with all NSW parliamentarians who represent the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie, to urge them to stop the shark meshing program.

 

CEN said it has asked Minister Moriarty and local MPs to consider the following stark statistics and abandon this ecologically harmful and ineffectual program:

 

• In the most recent reporting period (2021-22) the program captured only 28 White Sharks representing 7.4% of total catches. The White Shark is now listed as vulnerable/endangered.

 

• Near double that number (42) of non-target species were caught in the same period, including 19 Green Turtles, 16 Leatherback Turtles, 6 Grey Nurse Sharks and 1 Loggerhead Turtle - all of whom are endangered/vulnerable.

 

• The trigger point for minimising impact on non-target and threatened species was tripped in 2021-22 (and in some preceding years) for both Green and Leatherback Turtles.

 

“We have urged Minister Moriarty to consider the availability of new methods to protect beachgoers, which trap and kill substantially less bycatch than the now outdated and ecologically dangerous shark meshing.

 

“CEN would like to think the call for tenders was nothing more than a system glitch and that the NSW Government will immediately discontinue the shark meshing program on NSW beaches.”

 

Shark meshing is an outmoded and kneejerk reaction to an overly perceived problem of shark attack while beach swimming – fuel by the movie industry. The risk of being bitten by a shark is less than one in a million.

 

But if you still don't like your chances, there's a few things to keep in mind to help prevent yourself from being shark bait:

 

• Sea birds diving into the ocean are indicative of a bait ball — where there is a bait ball, there's probably going to be sharks. Stay clear!

 

• Another good tip for surfers and swimmers is to keep away from river mouths after heavy rain. Nutrients running into the ocean can attract animals to feed, and the reduced visibility after rain is ideal for ambush predators.

 

• Shark-proof wetsuits and repellent devices attached to boards and bands have also begun to hit the market. Studies have shown that the polymer fibres in shark-proof wetsuits reduce the size and depth of shark bites, and therefore reduce the blood loss that can lead to death.

 

• Several studies have also proved that repellent devices reduce the risk of a shark interaction.

 

But if you’re still concerned about shark attack, don’t go in the water. Shark nets span only part of a beach, so they don't remove all risk of an attack, allowing sharks to swim around the nets. But they do pose a key threatening impact on marine life!

 

Sources

 

DPI NSW (2017) Management Plan for the NSW Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program July 2017.

 

NSW DPI (2022a) Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program 2021/22 Annual Performance Report.

 

NSW DPI (2022b) NSW Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program 2021/22 Trigger Point Review Report.

 

NSW DPI (2022c) NSW SMART (Shark-Management Alert-in-Real-Time) Drumlines Report.