Shark heads and used condoms found on Sunshine Coast beaches
A Sunshine Coast diving instructor has revealed some of the shock finds washing ashore at popular Sunshine Coast beaches, including decapitated shark heads and condoms.
Sunshine Coast
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Decapitated shark heads and used condoms are among some of the disturbing finds along popular Sunshine Coast beaches.
Karen Anderson, a scuba diving instructor and self-proclaimed environmental activist has spent more than a decade combing Sunshine Coast’s beaches.
She made a shocking discovery when she found a severed hammerhead shark on Mooloolaba beach earlier this year.
“I thought it was really sad,” she said.
Ms Anderson only found one, but said the next day she was made aware of several other confronting discoveries by other beachgoers.
These were reported to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in May 2023.
Ms Anderson said this was the first and only time she had seen something like this on the beach, but it was not uncommon for her to come across other shock finds along the shoreline.
Along Warana beach, which Ms Anderson would survey to protect turtle nests, she said she often found tampon wrappers, “earbud sticks” and even used condoms.
The litter had stopped during the height of the Covid pandemic, she said, but had recently begun resurfacing.
She said it was like a “public toilet bin” had been dumped on the beach.
Pollution was also found at dive sites off the beach as well, she said, including rope, fishing gear and cans and plastic bottles.
She called for people to be more mindful of the impact their rubbish was having on the environment.
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries said they were made aware of the shark heads but were unable to determine where they came from.
They said it was not an offence to dispose of fish waste under the fisheries legislation, but the department encouraged every fisher to “think of others” when disposing of fish, especially to reduce the risk of shark bites in swimming areas.
New reforms announced by the Federal and State Governments in June had also made hammerhead sharks a no-take species for commercial fishing, in line with Queensland recreational fishing laws.
Fishers are urged to check the Fisheries Queensland website or the Fisheries 2.0 app for details of restrictions and limits.
Maroochydore MP Fiona Simpson, who had been made aware of the litter issue, said she had received “anecdotal complaints” about increased ocean litter.
She said there were claims this had come from ships coming into Mooloolaba, but there was no evidence to confirm if this was the case.
“I have requested from complainants any evidence that can be tagged to particular polluters, in particular photographic evidence, so that I can take the matter further,” she said.
“Ocean litter of any sort is unacceptable and I will take the matter up with the Environmental Protection Authority when I have substantive evidence to support the matter.”
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