The Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program 2020/21 Annual Performance Report, released today by NSW DPI, shows that of 375 species caught, only 10% (40) were actually targeted species. Of the 375 marine animals caught in the nets, 62% (231) were killed.
Notes to editors.
| Species | Caught | Killed |
|---|---|---|
| Australian fur seal | 1 | 1 |
What animals get stuck in shark nets?
While shark nets are designed to allow smaller fish through, any number of marine animals, including seals, dolphins, dugongs, and turtles can become twisted up, injured and can even drown in nets. In 2021, a humpback whale calf needlessly suffered after becoming tangled in a shark net off a Sydney beach.
How effective are shark nets?
Shark nets are indiscriminate, outdated, and ineffective. They have been installed at NSW Beaches since the 1930s, killing hundreds of marine animals every year for nearly a century. They do not provide protection, but instead a false sense of security.
Which sharks get caught in the nets?
The nets caught 51 of the three targeted species – white, bull and tiger sharks.
How many shark nets are in NSW?
The NSW Government’s Shark Meshing (Bather Protection) Program includes 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong. These beaches are netted by contractors using specially designed meshing nets to reduce the chances of shark encounters. The nets do not create a total barrier between swimmers and sharks.
How many animals get caught in shark nets?
Today’s New South Wales meshing annual average catch is 143 sharks, many of which are released alive. Nets were first deployed off certain beaches in KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal), South Africa, in 1952.
How many animals are caught in shark nets?
New data released by the NSW Department of Primary Industries has shown that during the 2021-2022 season, 325 of the 376 animals caught in New South Wales (NSW) shark nets were non-target species, totalling 86.4%. These animals include sea turtles, rays, a dolphin and a humpback whale.
Can sharks get past shark nets?
Sharks get caught in the nets and if contractors find they are among a list of target species, they kill them. Sharks can swim around the nets, and are often caught only when they swim past the nets a second time when returning back out to sea.
Why do divers touch sharks noses?
In this case, though, the shark wasn’t necessarily going for the diver. Touching the snout of a shark can elicit an instinctual mouth-gaping response. It’s reactionary, but not always aggressive, and often happens much more slowly than photographs suggest.
Do shark nets go to the bottom of the ocean?
They are set at a depth offshore where they don’t reach to the surface so they only come up six metres or so from the bottom in 10 metres of water. In some respects you have to be an unlucky shark to get caught,” he said.
How many sharks are killed each year in fishing nets?
Some estimate that 100 million sharks are killed each year globally. The majority of these killings are due to shark fishing.
How much marine life is killed by shark nets?
The What’s in the Net [1] study documents that at least 720,000 seabirds, 300,000 cetaceans, 345,000 seals and sealions, and over 250,000 turtles die after being caught in fisheries around the world annually – alongside tens of millions of sharks.
Why should shark nets be removed?
Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of shark nets is how many marine animals get caught in the nets. Of the 376 marine animals caught in shark nets during the 2021-22 reporting period, only 51 were the target species. The remaining 203 were threatened or protected species, including sharks, turtles and rays.
Does Bondi have shark nets?
“The nets are only 150m long, they’re 6m high and they are put at a depth of about 10m, so sharks in fact can swim around, under and over them. “Bondi is 1000m, Bronte is 200m, so shark nets really aren’t actually very effective, I don’t think, in actually stopping the sharks from coming in.”
Which Sydney beaches have shark nets?
Don’t let the toothsome name put you off—like most of Sydney’s harbour beaches, lovely little Shark Beach is protected by shark nets, so Jaws won’t bother you here. This 220-metre sandy strip is in leafy Nielsen Park, in the upscale Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, right between Rose and Watsons Bays.
How big are shark nets?
We have listed below the key facts about how shark nets are constructed and maintained (refer to the diagram below). They are: 124 to 186 metres long, with a mesh size of 500mm. attached to floats and drop 6 metres deep into the water.
How many sharks are killed by shark nets in Australia?
NSW Shark Meshing Program 2018-19 Catch
| Species | Total caught | Number killed |
|---|---|---|
| Bull sharks | 3 | 3 |
| Tiger sharks | 5 | 4 |
| Total non-target animals | 430 | 253 |
| Total target sharks | 50 | 31 |
How many sharks have been caught in shark nets?
Captures of great white sharks, tiger sharks and the combined whaler sharks in the shark meshing program total 3670 for the 52 year period. The bull shark makes up a small proportion of the 2800 whaler sharks captured. Therefore at least 8000 sharks of other species have been captured in the last 52 years.
When were shark nets invented?
Nets were originally used, in 1935, to cull populations so there would be fewer sharks and therefore fewer shark alarms. In the 2009 DPI report, it was argued that, although culling is indiscriminate, the goal is to kill larger sharks to reduce the risk of a fatal shark bite incident.
How often are shark nets checked?
While the Sydney nets are checked at least once every 72 hours, it is proposed that more frequent checking will be done for the North Coast trial. The exact regime will be informed by community feedback.
Does Florida have shark nets?
Florida leads the world in shark attacks. Unlike beaches in South Africa and Australia, the other places with large numbers of shark attacks, we don’t use shark nets to protect swimmers.