Shark nets in place across Australia, specifically in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, to protect beachgoers should be dropped as they have caused more harm than good, a study has found.
The measures were carried out by some governments, including nets and traditional drum lines, and provided beachgoers with a false sense of safety. The study found the effectiveness of nets was difficult to evaluate, while the significant damage they cause to other marine wildlife was clear. Researchers desire for nondeadly shark control measures such as eco-barriers, which physically separate swimmers from sharks, sonar(声呐) technology, and various shark-spotting techniques.
Researchers said while the risk of coming across a shark was rare, any shark-related deaths and injuries caught huge public and media attention.
One of the arguments in support of using shark nets is that just one shark-related death has been reported in Queensland since the 1960s. Similarly, since the 1930s, NSW has had only one shark-related death. But there have been at least 13 people killed by sharks at beaches without nets on the NSW north coast over the past two years.
The Humane Society International's head of campaigns, Nicola Beynon, said the government needed to move away from outdated methods. "Deadly shark nets and drum lines are more than 50 years behind scientific and animal welfare standards for dealing with marine wildlife, " said Beynon.
The NSW Greens' marine spokesman, Justin Field, said, "People are 100 times more likely to drown at the beach than to be killed by a shark in Australia. Therefore, millions of dollars going into the shark net program should be directed to observation towers for our lifeguards and improving the beach devices. "
