Shark nets QLD comment: Finally sanity has prevailed as drumlines returned to GBR Marine Park
Tourism needs all the help it can get off the back of the impact of coronavirus. But more than that, the decision to redeploy shark nets and drumlines in the Great Barrier Reef Marine park puts green groups back in their box, writes Peter Gleeson.
Opinion
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Finally, sanity prevails.
After a spate of lethal shark attacks, the Commonwealth and State Government have got their act together and will reintroduce nets and drumlines to the Whitsundays.
Even drones will patrol the skies to alert authorities to the possibility of sharks.
Drumlines and nets to be redeployed in Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
It follows a Federal Court ruling which prevented lethal shark nets and drumlines being deployed after complaints by the Humane Society.
The Feds and State have done well to get this done.
It’s complicated and required concessions from both sides, as well as complying with judicial obligations.
The Feds will stump up $5 million to ensure the new measures take into account the court ruling on nonlethal shark control.
More importantly, it now protects vulnerable swimmers.
This is a good outcome for the community, especially tourism operators.
The Great Barrier Reef’s appeal to domestic and international holiday-makers had taken a battering since six shark attacks in the past 14 months.
Understandably, families have shied away from the Whitsundays, fearful of the prospect of shark attack.
Tourism needs all the help it can get off the back of the coronavirus implications for our Chinese travel groups.
But more than that, this decision puts green groups back in their box.
Their cavalier disregard for the loss of human life – putting fish before people – is extraordinary.
Shark nets and drumlines have proven effective deterrents on the Gold Coast for the past 60 years.
Just south, at northern NSW beaches, there has been a spate of shark attacks.
When will authorities learn that the beaches and Great Barrier Reef are part of our culture, our history, and as a sun-drenched country, we deserve protection from ocean predators.
If the technology is there, use it. People before sharks. It’s not rocket science.
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