Next year marks 90 years since shark nets were first used in NSW to cull sharks.
We wouldn’t accept 90-year old safety standards in our schools, workplace or home, so why should the beach be any different?
Spanning just 100 metres and set 500 metres offshore, sharks can swim over under and around the nets.
Research shows no difference in shark bite rates between netted and non-netted beaches.²
Meanwhile, hundreds of marine animals, mostly non-target species like turtles, dolphins, and rays, die in them every year.
NSW Government’s use of shark nets is completely redundant because for nearly a decade, they’ve used modern, non-lethal alternatives like education programs, drones, and the tagging and tracking of sharks.
It’s time the NSW Government phased out these unnecessary and cruel nets for good.
Image: Hammerhead shark caught in a NSW shark net.
Photography credit: N McLachlan.
References:
- NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee Response to the Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program 2023/2024 Annual Performance Report https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-03/tssc-advice-2023-2024-smp-annual-performance-report.pdf
- Huveneers, C., Blount, C. , Bradshaw, C.J.A., Butcher, P.A., Lincoln Smith, M.P., Macbeth, W.G., McPhee, D.P., Molschaniwskyj, N., Peddemors, V.M., Green, M. (2024) Shifts in the incidence of shark bites and efficacy of beach-focussed mitigation in Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 198: 115855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115855.