Key Facts:
Media kit: https://hsiau.filecamp.com/s/o/SharkNets
Humane World for Animals Australia has stated that the NSW Government's scrapping of their proposed shark net removal trial from three Sydney beaches this summer "does not make sense for public safety or wildlife".
On Tuesday, 10 September New South Wales Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty confirmed that the NSW Government would shelve its trial in response to the tragic death of surfer Mercury Psillakis at Dee Why beach last week. Humane World for Animals understood the government needed to proceed with sensitivity but says that scrapping the trial would be a mistake.
Taking place in the same week that the NSW Government returned 51 shark nets to beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong, the tragedy has been a terrible reminder of the inefficacy of shark nets in protecting swimmers, as the Government continues to ignore the advice of its own scientists on the matter.
Humane World for Animals Australia has previously commended the NSW Government's investment in modern technologies that can more effectively monitor and alert swimmers to the presence of sharks.
"The NSW Government's divestment from outdated and ineffective shark nets like those installed at Dee Why is long overdue and the $2.6million spent annually on their deployment at beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong should instead be invested in providing more drones for shark surveillance – measures that actually reduce the risk of shark bite," said Humane World for Animals Australia Marine Biologist, Lawrence Chlebeck. "It's high time that the NSW Government found the courage to see the truth in this scenario: shark nets are a relic of the past that do not protect people from sharks. In fact, from a scientific perspective, images of carcasses pulled from nets with shark bites indicate that they are attracting sharks to Sydney's beaches."
The NSW Government's Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPI) deploys 51 shark nets to beaches from Newcastle and Wollongong between September and March each year. Data published by DPI following each season has consistently demonstrated high rates of bycatch in the nets and the drowning deaths of dolphins, turtles and critically endangered species of shark.
Humane World for Animals understands that the Government wants to consider the circumstances surrounding this tragedy but says it must adhere to an evidence-based policy and proceed with a transition away from discredited shark nets.
Humane World for Animals offers its sincere and heartfelt condolences to the friends and family Mercury Psillakis. We share the sorrow that is reverberating through the Northern Beaches and surfing communities. Media kit containing imagery of depredation obtained under FOI, government committee reports on inefficacy of shark nets: https://hsiau.filecamp.com/s/o/SharkNets
