Experts advocate for removing shark nets from Australia’s beaches permanently
Shark net
Experts and conservationists have been advocating for the removal of shark nets permanently from all east coast beaches in Australia. It has been understood that shark nets are more or less ineffective and harmful to other endangered species.
The shark nets, supposed to act as a physical barrier, are aimed at preventing sharks from reaching the shallow swimming areas of the surf beaches.
But over a period of time, such shark meshes have been apparently leading to the killing of other marine animals like whales, turtles, dolphins, dugongs, etc. There has been an evident environmental impact also.
A report by Sky News revealed that Queensland has 26 shark nets in place all year round, and New South Wales has 51 nets, which get removed during the whale migration season.
Sky News mentioned in the report that it travelled off Sydney's coast to gather information about the shark nets at Manly in northern Sydney and found that the meshes were only 150 metres long, while the beach is half a mile. The same was at Bondi beach also, the nets don't cover the entire length of it, only a small part.
This has been a major concern as several reports have mentioned that the shark mesh nets are not a complete barrier to sharks, which might reach beaches as they are not permanently set in the water, and do not cover the whole length of the beach.
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The meshing schemes and their maintenance are managed by the state governments. But according to reports, the N.S.W. Fisheries Scientific Committee has listed shark meshing as a Key Threatening Process.
As quoted by Sky, Lawrence Chlebeck, who is a biologist for the Humane Society International, explained: "Sharks can swim above, around and underneath the nets. In fact, 40% of sharks are caught on the inside of the nets, trying to make their way back out to open water."
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