 What do dugongs, sea turtles, juvenile humpback whales, dolphins, rays and grey nurse sharks have in common apart from living in the ocean? They are all victims of shark nets.
Every year an average of 4 dolphins and 3 turtles are killed in shark nets off NSW beaches.
We’re told that we need shark nets to prevent shark attack yet there is more chance of dying in an accident getting to the beach than by being attacked by a shark while you are swimming.
It is a common misconception that shark nets physically prevent sharks from approaching Sydney beaches. In reality, the nets are set on the bottom, do not reach the surface and are open at both ends, so sharks can swim over and around them.
Those that try to swim through them become entangled and drown. This is the only purpose of shark nets – to kill as many sharks as possible. NSW, Queensland and South Africa are the only places in the world that use shark nets.
 However, sharks are not the only creatures killed. In addition to dolphins and turtles, hundreds of harmless fish and rays are killed every year. The death list includes the critically endangered and harmless Grey Nurse Shark, wobbegongs, Port Jackson sharks, dugongs, rays and bony fishes.
It is so bad that shark meshing in New South Wales waters is considered a ‘key threatening process’. This means it is contributing to the extinction of our marine wildlife. Despite this listing, 49 beaches in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and the Central Coast, covering some 200 kilometres of coast, have nets set at least 13 days per month.
There has been an average of one fatal shark attack in Australia each year for the past 200 years. This is despite the fact that Australia’s population has increased massively and the numbers of international tourists and water users have greatly increased. Clearly, individual risks of shark attack are very low.
The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is asking the NSW Government to immediately stop shark netting during September and October, as there has never been a Sydney beach attack in these months since the first record in 1791.
The NCC also wants the NSW Government to develop non-lethal alternatives to shark nets.
The environmental price of shark nets is too high. How much time must pass, and how many more sharks and other harmless animals must be killed, before the meshing is gradually but steadily removed? Take Action - Find out what you can do to help address this threat.
Read more - Shark Meshing Misconceptions (PDF, 37kb) by Dr John Paxton explains some of the common misunderstandings about shark nets.
Coastal Ambassadors Presentation - Information for Coastal Ambassadors (PDF, 157kb). |
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