Tweed MP Geoff Provest pushing for fast-tracked shark drumlines and drones after fatal attacks in Gold Coast and Tweed
There are calls for new safety equipment to be fast-tracked after a dead whale sparked a shark feeding frenzy close to shore.
Gold Coast
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A SURF-LIFESAVING Tweed councillor wants to fast-track new drumlines and drones to protect beachgoers as a humpback whale carcass sparked a shark feeding frenzy off the coast.
The large whale carcass washed up on south Casuarina Beach on Monday afternoon, drawing sharks close to shore.
Tweed Shire Council aimed to haul the body to a landfill but the carcass washed back into the water at high tide.
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Tweed councillor and surf lifesaver James Owen said the carcass, which sparked a shark warning from Surf Life Saving NSW, later ended up on Pottsville Beach.
The council had renewed efforts to remove the carcass by Monday afternoon. Beaches including Casuarina, Salt and Pottsville were closed as a precaution.
Gold Coast beaches from Rainbow Bay to Coolangatta were closed for hours on Monday after a shark of unknown size and species was spotted 600 metres from Rainbow Bay’s shore.
Tweed MP Geoff Provest said a noticeable recent spike in close encounters and sightings on the Tweed and Gold Coast was concerning.
He worried a third person would be killed after fatal maulings of Miami surfer Nick Slater at Greenmount Beach on September 8 and Rob Pedretti at Salt Beach near Kingscliff on June 7. Both were attacked by great whites.
“I’ve been fishing here 31 years and there’s more and more reports of sharks,’ he said.
“I go fishing on the beach early morning and late evening. I’ve caught small bullsharks off the beach here … right where there was surfers. There’s definitely bigger ones out there.”
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Mr Provest was “highly confident” new SMART (Shark-Management-Alert-in-Real-Time) drumlines and shark-spotting drones would be confirmed for the Tweed in the November 17 New South Wales Budget.
“The NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall has put in a recommendation for extra drones and SMART drumlines here,” he said.
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Mr Provest said he “absolutely” wanted protection equipment fast-tracked and installed immediately after the budget was released.
“Once these funds are approved I want to see them in straight away,” he said. “SMART drumlines are a really great idea.”
Tweed beaches are not guarded by shark nets or drumlines, while the Coast has had nets and drumlines in place along its beaches since the 1960s.
Mr Provest blasted beachgoers for risking their lives by swimming among balls of baitfish close to shore and said “it’s like closing your eyes and crossing the M1”.
“You might be able to do it ten times, but one time a B-double (truck) will appear,” he said.
Deputy Mayor Reece Byrnes has previously said the Tweed community was anxious and some were afraid to enter the water after Mr Pedretti was killed.
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