A deadly shark attack at Long Reef beach on Sydney’s northern beaches has reignited debate about New South Wales’ shark safety program.
Mercury Psillakis, 57, was surfing at Long Reef on Saturday when he was attacked by what was described as a large shark.
The incident took place just a week after the annual installation of shark netting in NSW – a controversial form of gillnet designed to reduce attacks by killing animals. After Saturday’s attack, the state government has paused plans for a trial removal of nets at three beaches.
Here’s what you need to know about shark nets in NSW.
How many nets are there in NSW?
There are 51 shark nets at beaches in NSW, stretching from Newcastle to Wollongong. They are about 100-to-150 metres long and there are up to three at any given beach.
Shark nets were developed in the 1930s by NSW’s department of fisheries and were first used in 1937. They have been in operation since then, though in recent years, only for part of the year. The program costs the NSW taxpayer about $21m a year.
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The NSW government also employs drumlines, a baited trap which attracts sharks.
Dee Why beach, close to where the attack took place at Long Reef, has shark netting and drumlines, according to officials.
Why is NSW reducing the number of nets?
The state government had planned to trial a rollback of nets across three councils, including the Northern Beaches council that covers Dee Why.
The three councils, which also included Central Coast and Waverley, have said they would be happy for all nets to be removed from all beaches.
Instead, the NSW agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, asked the councils in July to nominate a beach to have its nets removed.
But on Sunday the premier Chris Minns said the trial had been put on hold until a report into Saturday’s attack was produced by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. He did not give a timeline for the report.
“We need to understand what happened and how it happened,” he said.
Why are shark nets controversial?
Environmental groups have long challenged both the effectiveness and ethics of shark nets and drumlines.
Shark nets are designed to kill sharks, on the theory that if there are fewer sharks, there will be fewer attacks.
Nicola Beynon, from Humane World for Animals in Australia, said the nets in NSW caught just 15 target sharks in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, they caught and killed scores of other marine animals, like dolphins and whales. About 92% of all animals caught in a shark net weren’t sharks, she said.
Shark nets may actually be a risk to public safety, by attracting sharks towards other dying marine animals, she said. “It’s a futile exercise in terms of public safety.”
What else could we do?
Beynon said the NSW government could adapt more modern technology.
One option is so-called smart drumlines. Instead of slowly killing an animal after baiting a hook, smart drumlines send a signal to a contractor who tags and releases the shark out at sea.
Another option is surveillance. A tagged shark can be monitored through the state government listening program. NSW also uses drones to visually monitor beaches.
In 2023-24, smart drumlines in NSW caught 413 target sharks, the drones detected 362 and listening stations 473, Beynon said.
“The shark nets are not adding anything to public safety. If anything, there’s a risk that they could be a false sense of security” she said.
What do other states do?
Queensland recently expanded its shark netting program, after a fatal attack on 17-year-old Charlize Zmuda at Bribie Island. Their nets are in place year-round.
The state government had announced an $88m overhaul of its shark management plan. The decision was widely panned by scientists, and faces a legal challenge. Colin Simpfendorfer, a senior advisor to the state government’s scientific working group, handed in his resignation in response to the decision.
Western Australia also has a shark attack mitigation program, but has not used drum lines since 2017.
- With AAP
