With the swimming season winding down, Narooma's Bar Beach shark net will be removed for winter. The net's annual removal is familiar to Bar Beach regulars, but this year Eurobodalla Council will replace it with a new net rather than the usual refurbishment.
Now at the end of its working life, the net will be removed on Tuesday 9 June, with a diver on site to ensure no marine creatures become entangled as the net is lifted from the water.
Before settling on a replacement, Council investigated a range of alternatives, but none proved suitable for the conditions at Bar Beach. If all goes to plan, swimmers can expect the new net in place before the September holidays.
The new net will be installed differently. Instead of relying on concrete block anchors that shift during heavy swell, two new timber piles will be installed – one near the rock wall and another towards the centre of the net. This setup will hold the net more securely in place and improve its long-term performance in the challenging coastal environment. The timber pile by the shoreline will be positioned further south down the beach to increase the amount of beach in front of the net.
The piles will be installed in late June, with a barge-mounted machine pushing them into the seabed.
While shark nets help reduce risk, they do not eliminate it entirely. Nets do not extend from the seabed to the surface and sharks can potentially enter netted areas by swimming above or below the net. People looking for protected, year-round outdoor swimming can visit the jetty and pontoon near the Narooma pool.
Council's sustainability team is exploring ways to reuse the old net.
