Each year, on 1 September the dreaded shark nets get deployed 150m off beaches along the NSW coast. They are part of NSW DPI’s shark ‘management’ strategy and have been deployed since 1937! Problem is the nets are indiscriminate traps for many marine creatures including rays, turtles, dolphins, seals and whales. At this time of year the whales begin their migration south and inevitably, some get entangled, requiring a huge human effort to rescue them.
The pressure to get the nets out has been growing steadily year on year. As new monitoring technologies become available, and the growing personal awareness around beach safety means the time for nets is over. But as with any change, politicians are fearful of community backlash. We need to show them that the wider coastal communities are overwhelmingly against the nets. We’ve done our own survey showing that the more often people use the beach, the less supportive they are of the nets.
It’s time to get nets out now. Sign the petition and let the decision-makers know that we’re ok to have no nets. Just like most of the world’s countries that have a coastline!