“Like Bringing A Typewriter To A Coding Class”: Experts Oppose Shark Nets Returning To NSW Beaches

sha1 September marks a huge ramp up of NSW’s shark bite prevention efforts, including a move that Human World for Animals Australia (HWAA) is condemning: the return of shark nets to 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong.

The new nets are part of the Minns Labor Government’s $120 million dollar Shark Management Strategy announced earlier this year, which recently saw two Tagged Shark Listening Stations installed in Sydney Harbour near Balmoral and Lady Bay in the Harbour’s east.

“Outdated & Ineffective”: A Marine Biologist Weighs In On NSW’s Shark Nets

According to HWAA experts, installing shark nets is comparable to “bringing a typewriter to a coding class”, the technology not only lacking the efficacy of the NSW Government’s recently expanded high-tech drone program, but also being potentially unsafe.

“Returning outdated and ineffective shark nets to beaches when we have cutting-edge drones flying a few hundred feet above the water is not only ridiculous, but also actually counter-productive to swimmer safety,” said HWAA marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck.

“Shark nets entangle and kill animals like dolphins, turtles and rays, whose distress, death and decomposition attracts sharks nearer to shore. Shark nets aren’t boundaries; they are beacons for sharks.”

Nets Accompanied By Summer Ramp Up Of NSW Drone Program

The shark nets are accompanied by a full summer ramp up of NSW’s expanded drone program. From 1 September, beachgoers can expect: extended drone surveillance hours from 6:15am to 5:00pm, expanded drone surveillance from 26 September over the NSW school holiday period, a record 73 drones operating across 97 beaches to deliver shark surveillance, and more than 300,000 scheduled surveillance hours this year.

The measures come just months after a Sydney mother was bitten by a shark between the flags at Coogee beach, and follows NSW’s unprecedented recording of four shark attacks in just 48-hours in January.

While HWAA has applauded these efforts, calling it the most extensive aerial shark monitoring program in the world, the reintroduction of nets is being condemned as a dangerous and unnecessary addition.

“It’s disappointing to see the NSW Government make such advances on shark safety with their science-backed drone program, only to take another step backward for swimmers and animals by unfurling useless and potentially dangerous shark nets in our waters yet again.”