No Nets response - The focus on alternatives to shark nets is encouraging, as is the decision to check nets every 3 days instead of 4.
However the refusal of the NSW government to remove shark nets all together, in spite of evidence that they don't work and that they harm endangered marine life, is disappointing.
Furthermore, refusal to change the mesh size from 60cm to a much smaller size (in which less animals would become trapped) highlights that the real purpose of the nets is to trap sharks, not prevent them from accessing our beaches.
Write to the NSW Government now to let them know we don't accept this decision!
High-tech solutions for reduction in shark attacks
By Miles Godfrey, August 22, 2009
The military and NSW government are adopting high-tech new methods to prevent a repeat of last summer's spate of shark attacks.
The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) will this week introduce a new DNA database designed to further research into shark population, size and movements.
It will also begin monitoring shark nets, due to be reinstalled at 51 NSW beaches on September 1, by GPS to help prevent harm to other marine life.
A new shark and turtle tagging program is also being started and shark nets will be checked every three days rather than every four.
The measures are in direct response to last summer's series of shark attacks in NSW which caused serious injuries to several people.
It comes as NSW Green MP Ian Cohen branded the nets "next to useless" and warned that endangered species, including the grey nurse shark, could be wiped out by them.
"The nets sag down like baggy underpants, so sharks can just swim over them while turtles and other creatures are caught up and killed," he said.
"To me they are window dressing, they are next to useless for the purpose they are designed.
"It is essentially 1930s technology and I think we can and should be doing a lot better."
The DPI's measures are contained in a new report outlining attempts to lessen the impact of shark nets on marine life.
The report confirms no extra nets are being laid this summer and there will be no change in the size of the 60cm mesh used.
Sydney beaches that will be netted are Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Maroubra, Wanda, Elouera, North Cronulla, Cronulla, Wattamolla and Garie.
Another 41 beaches in NSW will be netted between Stockton and South Wollongong.
Meanwhile the Navy said it is introducing several new measures including use of electronic shark repellents, upgraded medical facilities and a new tool to detect the presence of sharks.
It is in direct response to the shark attack on Navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder.
de Gelder lost an arm after a 2.7 metre bull shark bit him at Woolloomooloo as he took part in an anti-terrorism exercise.
"Following the shark attack on de Gelder, Navy developed a shark presence planning tool to assess the risk of shark attack and also acquired shark repellent devices," a Defence Department spokesman said.
"A review of Navy's diving practices has resulted in the development of a dangerous marine animal risk profile, revised dive planning processes, upgraded medical kits and trauma incident training."
Repellents used by the Navy have been tested by Australian divers involved in the recovery of bodies from the recent ferry disaster near Tonga.
There were a series of shark attacks in NSW last summer although statistics show the overall number of attacks is falling and experts maintain the risk of attack is tiny.
The Australian Shark Attack File, maintained by Taronga Zoo, shows there is an average of 1 fatality from shark attacks per year.
Far more people die from drowning every year while swimming or diving.
"The old saying that you are more likely to die on the way to the beach is still true. We have to keep this in proportion," a spokesman for Taronga Zoo said.
"The main thing to remember is to avoid the danger times of dawn and dusk and to swim in areas patrolled by lifeguards.
Waverley Council mayor Sally Bett is confident Bondi beach will be safe this summer.
"I think Bondi is one of the safest places to swim, particular if you swim between the flags and during daylight hours," she said on Saturday.
"We are one of the netted beaches and we have lifeguards year around during daylight hours so that certainly makes us one of the safest beaches.
"Considering the hundreds of thousand of people who swim at Bondi our record is pretty good."
Source: http://www.smh.com.au/national/hightech-solutions-for-reduction-in-shark-attacks-20090822-eufj.html
No comments:
Post a Comment