OF all netted beaches in NSW, Newcastle is the top killer of critically endangered grey nurse sharks. This season, Newcastle nets caught more of these fragile species than the sharks they're meant to catch. The 'NSW Shark Meshing Program' is reckless with our precious marine life, and we have just a few weeks to ensure the nets don't go back in.
There is hope though. Our team at Humane Society International Australia have been campaigning on this issue for close to three decades and it seems like the message is finally getting through to government that the nets simply do not work.
On July 31 st, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) released their annual shark net data. The figures tell the same tragic story every year. In the 22/23 NSW season - which runs from September to April - nets off Newcastle beaches caught an unacceptable amount of unintended, non-target species, and worse still, threatened or protected species*. Those numbers include three critically endangered grey nurse sharks, two marine turtles, rays, and a dolphin unfortunate enough to meet its end drowned in a net.
All of this while only catching two target sharks. If we look at the bigger picture, of the 403 animals caught in Newcastle nets since 2012, only 10 per cent were target shark species.
We know councils are fed up with these numbers. In 2021, all eight NSW local councils with shark nets officially voiced their opposition to nets through council motions or through submissions during a consultation process with the NSW government. Specifically, City of Newcastle moved a motion that "supports a modernisation of shark bite risk mitigation including the removal of shark nets in favour of increased drone surveillance, SMART drumlines, and trials of additional non-lethal measures".
Every beach in NSW where a net is installed already has alternative shark safety measures in place such as SMART drumlines, alert systems and drone surveillance. These modern, non-lethal mitigation measures, plus the use of personal shark deterrents and Shark Smart behaviour, are much more effective at keeping people safe without the cost to wildlife. The NSW Government can rely on these programs that they've spent the last decade developing - which by the way, are already available and in place across our beaches.
The message often lost through completely unnecessary fearmongering, is that shark incidents are rare, and nets don't stop them from happening. A volleyball net on the sand is as effective at reducing the risk of shark bite. Almost half of sharks (40%) are caught on the beach side of the net - so on their way back out into the ocean from the beach 2 . Additionally, by trapping animals right off Newcastle beaches, the nets could even be attracting sharks closer to shore.
On the flipside, what beachgoers should be worried about, are beaches without marine wildlife. When we enter the water, we enter their homes, and with their populations dwindling due to human behaviour, the least we can do for them is to ditch the nets.
Nets were first installed off Sydney beaches in 1937, so it's baffling that previous governments have blindly relied on this nearly 100-year old "technology" to protect swimmers. It's time for the new Minns Government to bring swimmer safety into the 21st century.
We have a chance to consign the nets to history, where they belong. Earlier this year, the NSW government said they would "support the reassessment of shark nets to move towards non-lethal new technologies". A critical part of this reassessment involves consultation with the councils that have shark nets-including Newcastle. This consultation is happening right now, and the NSW Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty, has said that these discussions will help determine the future of shark nets.
This means City of Newcastle councillors and the Lord Mayor need to hear that shark nets are unnecessary, cruel, and unsupported by residents. We're calling on the community to be a voice for sharks, dolphins, turtles, rays and whales.
This is the best chance we have ever had to get rid of these senseless, destructive nets. Just weeks out from the nets returning to beaches, Humane Society International Australia is urging the NSW Government to end their obsolete and destructive shark net program.
*HSI defines threatened or protected as any species listed as threatened under Australian State or Federal legislation, protected under State or Federal legislation, or listed under the international conservation appendices of CITES, CMS, and the IUCN Redlist.
