Conservation groups continue to call on NSW Government to end outdated shark net protection system

Conservation groups including Humane Society International Australia, Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS), The Envoy Foundation and Action for Dolphins (AFD) are calling on the NSW Government to remove shark nets and instead rely on the modern, non-lethal protection programs that the NSW DPI has spent the last decade developing, which are already available and in place across the state’s beaches.

The use of shark nets in Australia began as a public safety measure on Sydney’s beaches in 1937 in an effort to reduce the risk of shark bite. Today, NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) deploys shark nets at 51 beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong, every September through April. Every beach where a net is installed already has alternative shark safety measures in place such as SMART (Shark-Management-Alert-In-Real Time) drumlines, alert systems and drone surveillance. 

At lengths of just 150 metres, they are not meant as barriers to the open ocean. 

The conservation groups highlight “what started as a misguided attempt to reduce the risk of shark bite for public safety has turned into a drawn-out and devastating force on our marine life. Old habits die hard and the NSW Department of Primary Industries still deploys shark nets at 51 beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong every year.

“Dolphins, rays, turtles and sharks are routinely entangled and drown – the vast majority of animals caught are not considered in any way dangerous. This can’t carry on.

“We’re calling on the public to send the Premier an email urging him to finally break the habit and retire the nets.

“Shark nets are indiscriminate, outdated, and ineffective. They have been installed at NSW Beaches for nearly a century, killing hundreds of marine animals every year including threatened and protected species.”

Currently, NSW's Shark Meshing Program (SMP) uses 'trigger points' to indicate how many individuals of a threatened species can be caught in the nets before a management response is required, which typically only involves drafting a report. The current method to determine trigger points is based on previous annual catch averages, meaning that as catch increases, so do the trigger points.

This group of wildlife organisations submitted Government Information Public Access (GIPA) requests this year to obtain documents that revealed the NSW DPI (who manage the Shark Meshing Program), and the NSW Department of Environment (who advise the DPI on the trigger points), both agree the trigger point system must be improved.

The documents reveal that the loss of only two leatherback turtles in the Shark Meshing Program significantly risks a local extinction, according to a recent analysis commissioned by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The annual trigger point for the most recent NSW shark net season (which ended on 30th April) for Endangered leatherback turtles was 5.9 and the trigger point for Critically Endangered grey nurse sharks was 24.7.

Across the season, 11 leatherback turtles and 14 grey nurse sharks were caught, meaning there is no consequence for the deaths of grey nurse sharks, and merely a report for the leatherback turtles. Scientists consider the loss of one breeding grey nurse shark to be significant.

Leonardo Guida, shark scientist at AMCS notes "for around a decade now, the NSW Government has been using, modern evidence-based beach safety solutions such as drones and shark tagging that are a win-win for humans and wildlife alike, making it completely baffling why the government persists with redundant, 80-plus-year old measures such as shark nets. It's like someone today continuing to advocate for the use of the 80-year-old pest control 'solution', DDT, but ignoring the strong evidence for the harm it causes."

Andre Borell, Founder of The Envoy Foundation shared "It's quite scary to think that we are pushing critically endangered species like the grey nurse shark and the leatherback turtle to the brink of extinction, and that we are doing it with taxpayer funds as part of a Government run program. We do a lot of GIPA applications in this space and it's clear from the communications between DCCEEW and DPI behind closed doors that they know the harm and the risk these programs cause, what we are missing is some action."

Hannah Tait, Chief Executive at Action for Dolphins (AFD) added "Many protected animals are being indiscriminately harmed by a Government sanctioned program. The current shark net program, with its inadequate trigger points and lack of effective response, is outdated and ineffective. New South Wales already has effective, non-lethal alternatives widely implemented across New South Wales' coastline. It's time for the Minns Government to embrace these evidence-based measures already in use and permanently remove shark nets."

The wildlife conservation organisations are encouraging NSW residents to take action at sharkchampions.org.au/nswnetsout

Images and video. Credit: Shark Champions/HMI/AMCS