For the media - position statement

No Nets - Position Statement

No Nets is a group that campaigns for the removal of shark nets from NSW beaches. Shark nets are harmful to all marine life, from endangered grey nurse sharks to migrating humpback whales. Yet they do little to prevent shark attacks on our beaches. No Nets believes that shark nets need to be removed from NSW beaches and replaced with less destructive alternative technologies that will benefit both beach-goers and all marine life.

There are currently 51 nets in place of NSW beaches. They are not complete barriers, as many people believe but merely lengths of net that float below the surface. They don’t extend all the way to the surface or sea floor, so sharks can go over, under or around them. In fact 40% of sharks trapped in nets are trapped from the beach side – that is, they are trying to swim away from the beach!

The NSW Government claims the nets aren’t there to prevent sharks from approaching beaches but rather “to break up shark habitat patterns and encourage them to move on”. Yet there is little evidence that they do this. Furthermore the size of the mesh is around 50cm, which means there is a high risk of entanglement when marine life comes in to contact with the nets. Entanglement often results in a slow death by drowning or at least leaves the animal injured from struggling while entrapped. If nothing else is to be done, at least the use of a finer mesh would cause many less marine animals to become entangled. Yet the refusal of the State Government to use nets with smaller mesh shows that they are more interested in catching sharks than finding real ways to protect our beaches.

As well as sharks, each year hundreds of other marine animals are fatally trapped in shark nets. Animals including dolphins, manta rays, whales, dugongs, turtles and some large fish have all been found entangled in shark nets in NSW. No Nets believes this by-catch is not justified by the low chance these nets are effective in preventing already very rare events. Furthermore many species affected by shark nets (including some shark species!) are recognised as threatened species by the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 as well as NSW laws. Yet shark nets continue to exist, despite their impact on threatened species.

No Nets believes that shark nets only provide the illusion of protection from sharks. We believe support for shark nets stems from a deeper misunderstanding of sharks. We believe perceptions of sharks need to change from seeing sharks as man-eating beasts to fragile and endangered animals that play an important role in the ocean’s ecosystems and deserve to be protected. Many sharks are endangered, for example the grey nurse shark which is endemic to Australia. It is estimated that there are less than 500 grey nurse sharks left. With a species this close to extinction, every shark killed by shark nets is a huge loss to the population.

No Nets supports and encourages research and development into alternate ways of preventing shark attacks. A number of technologies, such as sonar-based repellant devices, have been developed that may play a role in keeping sharks away from beaches if implemented on a large scale. They may also have value in protecting individuals at risk, for example surfers and divers.

However a number of strategies already exist to minimise shark attacks. Aerial patrols are an effective way of warning beach-goers if any sharks are in the area or if large numbers of bait fish are present off shore. Furthermore, discouraging swimming at dawn or dusk, in murky water or with a dog would minimise the risk of shark attacks.

No Nets demands that the NSW Government removes shark nets from NSW beaches.

At minimum nets should

• be replaced with a fine mesh that minimises the entrapment of animals
• be patrolled twice a day instead of once every 2-3 days to attempt to release any trapped animals still alive
• be removed in whale migration seasons (from June-July and September-November)

However the best decision would be to remove nets all together and replace them with more effective ways of protecting beach-goers that don’t harm marine life.