It is inevitable that Saturday’s tragedy will complicate the conversation about a trial offered to Central Coast, Northern Beaches and Waverley councils to remove one net during this shark net season. All three councils have expressed their desire to participate and even acknowledge that the public and wildlife would be better served if all the nets in their jurisdictions were removed. Decisions are being made cooperatively between councils and the NSW government on which beaches the trial will take place at, though it now seems the trial will be delayed. This delay is a mistake.
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In the aftermath of the tragedy at Dee Why – which is a netted beach — the community will no doubt feel fear, anger, confusion, anxiety and a need for action, just as any community that has faced this horror in the past has felt. These emotions could be partly assuaged with firm and clear leadership towards a long-overdue paradigm shift.
A shift toward the thinking that the best way to protect ourselves and our community is to approach the problem with logic and reason and to apply our advancements in knowledge and technology – a shift away from the thinking that killing marine wildlife 500 metres off our beaches will somehow send sharks away.
Removing all shark nets across NSW will not only benefit marine wildlife but will benefit public safety, freeing up millions of dollars in resources for more drone surveillance, extra beach patrols, additional tagging and tracking and more education.
Shark nets have never kept us safe, and they never will.
Lawrence Chlebeck is a marine biologist with Humane World for Animals Australia.
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