Marine ecologist Dr Danny Bucher says patrolled beaches on Gold Coast safer than shark nets
IF YOU don’t want to be attacked by a shark, you’re safer swimming between the flags at beaches protected by lifesavers rather than shark nets. Here’s why.
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IF YOU don’t want to be attacked by a shark, you’re safer swimming between the flags at beaches protected by lifesavers rather than shark nets.
This is according to a marine ecologist, who commented in the wake of two confirmed tiger shark sightings on Gold Coast and Tweed beaches that resulted in swimmers being ordered out of the water.
“One of the big arguments is that netted beaches are safe because there’s not been many attacks on them,” Southern Cross University academic Dr Danny Bucher said.
“But most of those beaches are also patrolled beaches, and when you look at patrolled beaches that are not netted they’re actually just as safe, if not safer.”
Yesterday, a NSW Department of Primary Industries helicopter sounded a shark siren at Cabarita when a 2m tiger shark was spotted. Swimmers were called from the water.
On Saturday another tiger shark was found alive, caught on a drum line at Palm Beach. In that incident, the area was closed for bathers for about half an hour.
The shark was retrieved and killed by Fisheries Queensland contractors.
While tiger sharks would make Dr Bucher “get carefully but quickly out of the water”, he said yesterday strong currents were more deadly.
He said if all shark nets were removed it would still be safe to swim between the red and yellow flags because of the lifesavers watching on the beach.
“There’s not many netted beaches that are not patrolled but there are plenty of patrolled beaches that are not netted,” Dr Bucher said.
“With the red and yellow flags, it’s where the lifesavers and lifeguards have decided where the safest water is and it’s where the eyes are on the water.
“Dangerous currents and getting hit with surfboards and things like that are far more dangerous than sharks.”
There have been no fatal attacks on Gold Coast beaches since shark nets were installed in 1962, but Dr Bucher said patrolled beaches were safer — surf life saving organisations had not recorded a fatality between the red and yellow flags.
“Sydney has had one fatal shark attack on a netted beach and there have also been a number of other attacks on netted beaches that were not fatal but could have been,” Dr Bucher said.
“(The flagged area) has actually got a better safety record than shark nets.”