This is exactly what shark nets are for

Shark-loving misanthropes gnash their teeth again over the demise of one fish, but don’t bat an eye when a human is killed or mauled by a shark, writes Miranda Devine.

A massive great white shark, almost five metres long, was found dead in nets off Maroubra Beach this week.

This is what shark nets are for, to keep humans safe and let man-eating sharks take their chances.

But shark-loving misanthropes will be wailing and gnashing their teeth again over the demise of one fish, even while they do not bat an eye when a human is killed or mauled by a shark.

“We’re in their living room”: they say. “What did we expect?” You deserved it, in other words, if your arm was torn off and you bled to death in shallow surf.

A huge shark was caught off the coast of Maroubra. Picture: supplied

Really, you don’t expect to be eaten alive when you go for a swim at Maroubra. Hence the nets, to carve off one minuscule portion of the vast ocean for human recreation. What did the shark expect?

In Bondi last week a four-metre shark closed the beach after surfers sounded the alarm. The north coast is bracing for another summer of shark attacks.

With anecdotal evidence mounting of an explosion in deadly shark numbers, and shark scientists curiously unwilling to share their data, the federal government should remove the protection for great white sharks, and allow a humane culling program to keep humans safe this summer, and fish and chips shops in stock.

As for NSW wasting money on “smart” drum lines to replace nets, common sense tells you that catching and releasing a shark does nothing to deter it from eating people.

@mirandadevine