Shark nets at NSW beaches will be phased out according to NSW Govt Minister
Shark nets will disappear from NSW beaches thanks to new high tech attack prevention methods, a NSW Government Minister has confirmed.
NSW
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Controversial beach nets designed to protect swimmers from sharks, but that also kill or trap other marine species, will eventually disappear from the coastline, a State Government Minister has confirmed.
The introduction of new technologies such as shark spotting drones and SMART drumlines mean that netting at 51 NSW beaches will go at “some point in the future”, according to Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall.
There are shark nets set at 15 beaches between Palm Beach and Manly which regularly trap protected shark species as well as dolphins, turtles and rays.
Mr Marshall was speaking at Manly Beach on Monday morning at the launch of a new initiative that will see customised first aid shark attack “trauma kits” given to 110 boardrider clubs and 55 surf schools along the coast.
The government will partner with peak body Surfing NSW to deliver shark attack specific first-aid training courses. It will also provide 20 new drones to be used by Surf Life Saving NSW during its events.
Mr Marshall said that with the government investing record amounts of money in new technologies in recent years to prevent shark attacks “there will come a day, I’m sure, when our beaches will not be meshed,” he said.
“They continue on 51 beaches across NSW, They continue because they are incredibly effective.
“Since the program began in the 1930s we’ve only had one fatality on a beach that is meshed in NSW.”
Mr Marshall said he could not say exactly when the shark nets would no longer be used.
“These nets will stay in for this summer, but I think it’s fairly clear that at some point in the future they will go.”
The Minister acknowledged there was growing community concern about the cost to marine life through the use of shark meshing.
“That is why I’ve been driving the NSW Government to invest more and more money in alternate technologies that we’re using up and down the coast.”
Humane Society International (HSI), wjhich has been campaigmning for the removal of shark meshing, said it welcomed the shark trauma kit announcement as well as the Ministyer’s comments on the future of netting and the use of new technologies.
“We congratulate the progress made by the Department of Primary Industries in trialling new, effective, non-lethal technologies to reduce the risk of shark bite such as drone surveillance and SMART drumlines,” he said.
“These are far more effective than shark nets, which provide nothing more than a false sense of security and come at a great cost to marine wildlife. The time to end their use for good is now.
“A lack of fatalities at netted beaches is a result of improved emergency training, procedures, and response times, and that netted beaches are not in remote locations. There have been 34 shark bites at netted beaches, they do not reduce the risk of shark bite.”
Surfing NSW CEO Luke Madden said partnering with the government to upskill surfers and surf school staff to use the shark attack medical kits would save lives.
“These skills and resources could prove life-saving, especially in remote regions where emergency services may be some distance away,” he said.
“Every one of us wants to make sure we have the skills and tools we need so that if the worst happens to one of our mates, we can do everything we can to save them.”
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