Shark nets Central Coast: Gosford MP Liesl Tesch calls for SMART drumline trial at Umina
A local MP has called for SMART drumlines to be trialled at Umina Beach instead of shark nets after 115 out of 130 marine animals caught in the net have died in the past seven years.
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Shark nets off Umina Beach have killed 115 sharks, turtles, fish and stingrays over the last seven years, with just 15 other trapped marine animals going on to survive.
The statistic has prompted Gosford State Labor MP Liesl Tesch to call on the NSW Government to extend SMART drumline trials to Umina Beach.
Trials of SMART drumlines, which use a baited hook and GPS technology to attract target shark species rather than the indiscriminate nature of nets, proven a successful less lethal option when deployed at three beaches from February to April last year.
The trials were done at two Sydney beaches and one in the Hunter but Ms Tesch said she wants similar trial to be done at Umina Beach.
“It is clear we need an alternative to shark meshing programs on the Central Coast, with 130 marine animals caught up at Umina and all but 15 of them dying,” she said.
“We need the NSW Government to introduce technologically advanced shark prevention, like we’ve seen in the successful drumline trial, to ensure our marine animals are protected.”
SMART drumlines act as both a shark mitigation, protection, and research tool.
The nonlethal devices include two buoys and a satellite-linked GPS communications unit attached to a baited hook.
The SMART drumlines detect shark movement when they take the bait and place pressure on the communications line, releasing a magnet which alerts the drumline operator.
“I’ve found it really difficult to grasp that our shark mesh has had an 88 per cent death rate at Umina Beach alone over the past seven years,” Ms Tesch said.
“It’s obvious that we need a new strategy and the SMART drumline trial may be our solution with results already showing significant improvements compared to existing methods of bather safety.”
According to the Department of Primary Industry’s Shark Mesh (Bather Protection) Program’s 2018-19 annual report 185 marine animals were caught in nets at Central Coast beaches including three green turtles and two logger head turtles.
The report states the trials of SMART drumlines were positive and the DPI was already considering extending them to other beaches.
“Although catches were low and precluded statistical scientific analysis comparing catch between the SMART drumlines and shark nets, results highlighted the benefits of SMART drumlines over nets particularly regarding non-target species catch,” the report read.
“It is envisaged that this technology may be trialled for a second period within the (Shark Mesh Proigram) region incorporating an experimental design to test their efficacy in relation to the nets currently used in this region.”
It comes after a 35-year-old woman was attacked by a great white shark on August 15 at Shelly Beach near Port Macquarie.
