Shark Nets May Soon Be Removed On Some NSW Beaches
Almost 90 years since they were first introduced to NSW beaches, shark nets may soon be removed at the discretion of local councils.
NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders confirmed discussions were taking place as part of a wider and ongoing review of the state's shark netting program.
The news comes after the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) released its annual report last week that detailed the performance of the nets. The report revealed that, of the 376 animals entangled, 203 were threatened or protected species, and only 51 were the targeted shark species. Of those animals, 234 were killed, including 5 critically endangered grey nurse sharks and 14 green turtles.
Note that target sharks are tiger sharks, bull sharks, and white sharks
Following consistent attacks throughout the 1920 and 30s, shark nets were first introduced to select Sydney beaches in 1935 as a two-year experiment. By 1937, there had been no further shark bites and the nets were deemed a success. A similar result also occurred in South Africa when Durban's beaches were netted.
The correlation between the introduction of nets and reduction of attacks would appear to indicate causation, yet a little-known fact is that Sydney's beaches had their nets removed for three years between 1943 and 1946 with no attacks recorded. Despite this, the nets were returned and expanded to beaches north and south of the city. At present, 51 beaches between Wollongong and Newcastle are netted.
Recently, the ABC reported that eight coastal councils had revoked their support for the nets, yet Mr Saunders said it was too soon to remove the nets altogether.
"If a shark net was removed and suddenly a fatality occurred, what do you think public reaction would be then?" posited Mr Saunders.
"We are actively engaging in all the new technology to make sure that if and when those meshing programs stop, we have the technology and the ability to track meaningfully and trap sharks in a far better way."
Though the survival rate has increased, more than half of the turtles caught in shark nets perished
In Wollongong, Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said it was time for the nets to go. "The marine environment is so fragile, and we need to protect it," said Mayor Bradbery. "It's a clumsy and almost crass way of dealing with problem when we've got more sophisticated ways of protecting those who use the ocean."
DPI records show there are 18 Smart drumlines - the only physical alternative to nets - on Wollongong beaches between Coledale and Windang.
This week, Central Coast MP Adam Crouch advanced the conversation by lobbying the state government to see his electorate become the first place in the state to trial the removal of all shark nets.
“People on the Central Coast love the water, but we are acutely aware that the water is a shark’s natural environment and it’s important we respect that,” Crouch told the Sydney Morning Herald. “There is that almost a false sense of security the public has about nets and while there is no perfect solution that guarantees public safety, we do have much smarter ways of monitoring shark activity.”
Crouch met with Minister Dugald Saunders seeking to prevent the nets from being reinstalled on September 1 on Central Coast beaches. DPI records show there are 30 Smart drumlines between Pebbly and MacMasters Beach.
At present, only nets and drumlines provide a physical obstacle to sharks, with other measures, such as listening devices, tagging, and drone surveillance, offering non-invasive tracking information.
Earlier this year, the NSW government offered $85 million to fund the implementation of non-invasive technology.
Comments
Sounds like a step in the right direction, big-ups to those councils that can the nets.
Get rid of them and the drum lines!!
So are dolphins never caught, or they are caught but they always die?
No, the table is for survival rates - dolphins never survive the nets.
Need to go through the PDF linked to find the raw number of dolphins caught.
Thanks stu, didn't see the link, but basically 1 dolphin caught and 1 dolphin died. Hopefully it was an idiot dolphin and not the one which lined up the SUP for our enjoyment. A few further dolphins caught in previous years but no death rate given.
The nets are fitted with acoustic pingers to warn off dolphins and whales. It reduces the number caught in the nets.
I love the ocean and want to protect, and do protect marine life as best i can when fishing and interacting in the ocean other ways, but i love human life more... i know it's their environment that we entre however i have a question for the crew here.
How many human fatalities per annum would you be willing to accept before requesting the re-installation of nets again?
No answer to your question, but after a few years of stasis I sense we're about to enter a period of heated debate again.
Don't think anyone could answer that Chipper, however I'd counter with:
a) why do we as humans continue to attempt to control our environment in this fashion (particularly for our own recreational purposes)?
b) why is it acceptable for metro beaches to continue these practices that result in bycatch and inadvertent harming of animals in their rightful habitat?
a) why do we as humans continue to attempt to control our environment in this fashion (particularly for our own recreational purposes)?
Thats easy: because it is what all species on Earth do.
Lions routinely revenge kill hyaenas they have no intention of eating because they pose a threat to the cubs.
All species attempt to control their environment to reduce predation.
You make a good point
.
I just can’t help but feel humans v sharks is a little different. We do this so we can splash in the water for fun, not because we have to go there and unfortunately we influence many other animals than ‘the target’. In other parts of the world (Northern Australia) people don’t just splash for fun anywhere they like for the more real risk of being attacked.
I know this topic is close to your heart and region. Do you feel smart drum lines are a sufficient solution (for reasonable coexistence)in your neck of the woods?
And to someone else’s point, this is a drop in the ocean compared with commercial fishing.
You are talking about crocodiles?
Crocs in Australia are intensively managed, far more so than white sharks.
Anything south of Gladstone is killed and crocodiles in QLD are managed according to zones. If a croc is in a certain zone it is removed or killed.
As is any croc in Darwin Harbour.
Any problem croc elsewhere is hunted, trapped and removed- usually killed, sometimes relocated.
But yes, most of Northern Australia is wilderness, or close to it, so there are large areas where crocs make swimming dangerous.
Most of coastal SE Australia is heavily populated, with economies, cultures and recreation based on the ocean- very, very different to Northern Australia.
As for the drum lines, yes I do think they are the best solution we have for co-existence, in this region.
It might be different for Sydney region- that is the most densely populated and highest beachgoing region in the country.
A summer netting program, with every effort taken to reduce bycatch, maybe the best solution there.
It is extremely hard to argue against the key statistic: one fatality in over 60 years, despite it being the most densely populated part of the country and right smack bang in the middle of the white shark range.
You've been trumpeting the continued torturous slaughter of marine animals simply for our recreational peace of mind for years, Steve. Good to see some things never change.
Thankfully, these selfish narcisistic opinions are a minority now.
You ridiculed my tips on avoiding shark attack 3 years ago. Simple old ocean man's knowlege, that should be handed down from generation to generation. Instead of common sense, you want to fight nature. You want cotton wool lined points, Drone serviced beach breaks, but put a camera up at Lennox and all hell breaks loose.
No wonder I moved to South Oz, as far away from hypocritical dolphin killing hipsters as I could get.
Possibly primaeval fears of survival, bypass logic & scientific facts.
&t=95sLegal angle: a spike in attacks post-nets, is Council liable? Not doing something that -could- have prevented, or -reduced- the risk? Not sure that's in their political calculus at this time, but it should be.
Picture your newborn son/daughter beautiful and vulnerable. Your household cat scratches his eye out. You put the cat down. Now your son is floating in the ocean surrounded by hundreds, in fact all of the great white sharks in the world, and the only way to save him is to press the button and remove them all from existence. Do you press? Now imagine something less predator-emotive. All of the remaining African elephants are stampeding towards your vulnerable newborn. The only way to stop it is to press the button and nuc the elephants. Do you press? Now lets scale up to all of the wildlife in Africa. You have to choose, newborn child or all the wildlife in Africa? Beautiful zebras, meercats sprinbocks. There are no right answers here just a thought experiment. Now imagine that the newborn is in fact humanity, and while these hypothetical choices seem silly, as the child grows and our population continues to grow, the choices begin to actually play out. Eventually if we continue to choose humanity over nature it will be our end, it is a mathematical certainty. The final example is all life on earth or your newborn? Everyone sits somewhere on this continuum. Some people realise that eventually if you choose yes to the final choice there is nothing left to eat. Will it be palm oil or orangutans? Fish and chips or orange roughy? The earth's ability to sustain life through geological time is driven by biological diversity. Diversity carried us through the meteorite(s). Some weird little fucker has the tools to survive that no one does and that species carries on. Coral reefs are the original complex habitat, having persisted through numerous mass extinction events over the last 350m years. The diversity that has sustained the most complex ecosystem over this time over many different suites of dominat species is driven by symbiosis, things living with, inside, outside of eachother, predators and parasites, diseases, and decomposers. We need to preserve species to survive in the long term, I don't think it is as binary as whether sharks/marine species are more important than humans.
95 people die every year from bull bars on vehicles; mainly the old and young pedestrians.
Can we accept that bullbars are 10x greater human killers than shark bites?
No, everyone is exposed to bull bars, but only a fraction (us, me and you) are exposed to bull sharks. You and I, are 10x more likely to get attacked by a sharkie than the nail technician at your local shopping complex.
A near perfect record over a century dismissed as coincidence?
Too bad that the science is so inadequate that it fails to account for knowledge that is obviously missing from their books. Where is the research into the concept that the nets work perfectly to the degree that whites now habitually know to avoid humans in the netted areas? Does no one consider that the outcome of very few whites killed vs attacks on humans prevented is exactly the result that science strives towards ….yet they already have it but lack of imagination prevents them from recognising the success?
I posit that sharks communicate within themselves and that danger is amongst the primary things they communicate. When a pointer gets smashed by an orca every pointer clears out for months, far more sharks exit the locale than personally witnessed the orca attack. This surely indicates that the pointers communicate as just the sound of orcas has not proven to scare them away.
The paucity of attacks by pointers in netted areas would show a similar level of communication between sharks that the nets are dangerous and to avoid these areas as much as possible. The nets currently pose little threat to pointers and the attacks are not forthcoming ….if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
A far, far more impactful issue confronting sea life in Sydney is destruction of wetlands, waterways and runoff / pollution. All of these issues are exaggerated by increasing population. The answer? Mass increase of population ASAP. “Explosive population growth” is the Premier’s preferred outcome.
Won’t anyone think of the little fishies?
Well said. All good points.
The presence of the nets also deters sharks from hanging around by disrupting the path they take as they swim in and around the place they are looking to temporarily inhabit.
The detractors who count the number of sharks caught in the nets don’t take into account the number of sharks that might see the unnatural structure hanging in their path and move away from the area.
Books on surviving in the wild usually cover how to trap animals for food. One of the first lessons they put forward is to make sure the trap is hidden or looks like part of the natural environment because animals immediately recognise unnatural features and avoid them. Shark nets are based on that notion.
Hopefully, the scientists at DPI hold the line on nets until they’re sure that they have an alternative that works just as well.
Absolutely.
This is what annoys me. Sydney was a shark hotspot before the nets were installed. 5 fatal attacks at ocean beaches in the two years prior (1934-35). More than a handful through the 1920's and 30s before that.
Not a single fatal at a netted beach since. ZERO
There are all sorts of shitty arguments about bycatch or whose environment it is, but to somehow suggest that the nets don't work is just the height of idiocy.
NSW shitty argument; burley the waters....
Bondi & North Head Manly had primary sewerage (raw minus solids) pumping out into the ocean until an environmental levy was created (& the Olympics were coming to town).
Coastal towns were similar basic sewer systems, just pumped at night
Byron had whale & then cattle blood pumped out into the ocean.
Splash like a fish in distress to attract sharks at a river mouth.
Drone footage @ Ballina Richmond River; White pointer & surfers 2minute mark
Tuncurry Breakwall; Great Lakes rivermouth
Humans are the highest apex predator on earth, to our own loss when all else is now in peril.
We all have to connect with nature to live and let live.
Couple of good kingies cruising in that first video right on the 2:00 minute mark. Just before the shot of the first white it shows what looks like empty water clear with a bit of reef underneath. A live yakka would be devastating…
Excellent news DudeSweetDudeSweet! Good drone work. Well done! You also answered the question about alternatives to Nets. Correct use allows us to respond to shark presence. Everyones happy. Certainly the marine world. I hope others have this foresight. The more Reef the better. We need to take care of the reef systems. Thanks for that. Unlucky for me. I cannot surf or fish because of my back. Cheers.
I'm surprised I can't find a statement like "shark nets reduce risk of attack by Xpct". There's a reference there for a paper from 1997 but that's ancient. Would have thought you need an up to date estimate to make a call on removing them
said Mayor Bradbery. "It's a clumsy and almost crass way of dealing with problem when we've got more sophisticated ways of protecting those who use the ocean."
oh yeah, what are they again?
Well stated samerubi. You are right. Thank you.
Since when did a Council's jurisdiction extend beyond the median low water mark?
In other words, why do Council's have control over shark nets? Shouldn't this be run by the State government?
Fucking stupid idea, such small fry in the scheme of things compared to the reduction in human fatalities. All you cnuts who are against them better not be eating any fish caught by trawlers cos they kill way more untargeted species then the shark nets.
Virtue signalling nonsense. Hang your heads in shame you fccckn cretins.
Punctuate, spell correctly, reserve judgement and be heard.
Spelling, grammar and colourful language aside, he makes a good and valid point about the damage from commercial fishing far exceeding the size of the bycatch in shark nets.
Dearest loofy. I hate trawlers too. Thanks. Plus long lining.
For me it’s simple. Am I willing to go into an environment where I could be eaten for the sake of pleasure. Yes.
Well said. I could not agree more. Thank you Sir.
You would imagine that the "technology" (presumably drones etc.) will just focus on popular swimming areas.
Based on the stats, having a hammer-shaped head really ruins your chances of escaping a net.
As a fisherman and surfer I have to agree with Loofy. If you eat fish and support this then hang your head….
The by-catch our fisherman “must” by law throw back is disgusting.
Let’s start right there if you want to draw a line in the sand about protecting our sea life.
By-catch, what a horrible phrase- is simply throwing back dead fish in the thousands. Fish that, if allowed to keep, we could keep eat and in theory would mean the need for less fishing by providing more fish to ear.
Broaden your mind and broaden your palette, as opposed to just eating the more preferred species, then that would be a step forward.
This debate is so hypocritical because certain groups choose to highlight certain species being killed (as a consequence) of certain human activity.
I cannot understand the logic’s in not preserving human life at the cost of a few sea creatures. I know. I said it!!!
I don’t want to attend the funeral of my mates and family who surf.
Please don’t tell me I shouldn’t enter the ocean then. I accept the risk outside populated areas all the time. I’m talking about populated areas only.
+1. Great comment.
Not sure anyone wants to hear such valid logic and reason. They're going after easy political points.
About sums it up.
I have lost 2 friends to shark attack while surfing and there has been another at my local.
The nets work. They save human lives.
Dead fish 'by-catch' is from businessmen who use boats & nets for profit.
The sea floor & ocean has been drag netted; raped for profit.
The proposed & previous NSW Marine reserves to provide fish nurseries have been scrapped by baby boomers lobbying Govt, wanting every inch of coast.
Less fish, more hungry predators, looking for around a feed?
If we choose not to surf in dark water, river mouths or while the whales or schools of fish pass along the coast, would the risks of shark bites could be lower?
i just don’t get this…
are they now saying if you go in the water then it’s come what may??
i hate the thought of anything being killed- sharks included- but the rhetoric that it is ‘their environment’ and we are in it doesn’t cut it….don’t know a surfer that isn’t hyper aware of environmental and marine issues but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to want to be as safe as possible
The whole 'it's their habitat, not our' angle infuriates me. It's possibly racist even, a vestige of Victorian/Colonial fear of the Ocean, versus Polynesian pastimes, that we're somehow not supposed to swim...much less surf...in the Ocean.
There's also the whole troubling enviro-angle that us humans are a scourge on an otherwise pristine and perfect Mother Earth...when we were created and evolved by this same Earth.
Human-hating can lead to very problematic outcomes.
Much more problematic than man-eating shark wariness.
Anyways, just musing here.
Shouldn't we be cancelling fish'n'chip shops too?
'it's their habitat, not ours' ....I don't read it like that. That argument seems to be more aligned with an acceptance of risk. It's definitely a complex debate.
As for human hating, I think the enviro-angle you talk about is acknowledgement that we are in danger of altering the current conditions of earths biosphere to the point that it becomes way less hospitable and habitable for current day life forms....us included.
I believe the councils are saying there has to be a better way. Not sure what that is yet, but netting offshore areas that then go on to indiscriminately and detrimentally impact a lot of marine life should be looked at. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933223-300-rescue-plan-for-natu...
I understand drumlines to be just big hooks off floating drums with some bait? You can set these up with an electronic warning that goes to a monitoring centre.
Am I right? Or is there a more complex type of system.
If they use these are there heaps of hooks or are they just put near recent sightings popular beaches?
Not a huge fan of nets but do these drums work?
Hall of Lame
What about the untagged sharks!
Their social credit score will be seriously affected until they let themselves get tagged and so they will be too ashamed to visit populated areas.
The gig world has advised government that there is nothing a smart phone app can't fix.
Shark nets clearly need a technological transformation and reimagining to be more future facing. I propose they should be re-named:
Smart Shark Diversion Systems (SSDS)
Then develop a SSDS smartphone App with cloud based data hosting that goes "ping" every hour reminding users that the SSDS is out there working all day to keep them safe.
This will transform netting from "clumsy" but effective to "high tech" and effective.
Coastal development farming and especially minning which means shipping and dredging has a far bigger impact on coastal sealife than a few shark nets and commercial fishing ..and for that matter huge numbers of recreational fisherman having a much larger impact than then the australian commercial fishing industry ...
Sorry Shaun. Recreational fishing has very little impact on coastal sealife than the trawlers, commercial and long line marine life killers.As I said from the beginning we practice "Catch and Release" policies and beliefs to ensure that species continue to try and grow back In greater numbers. We sometimes keep a simple feed for our family and stay within the bag limits set by the Government so please do some accurate research before commenting again If you choose. Watch the shows on Tv to understand.
Best you do some accurate research John .Over 85% of fish taken in GBR region is taken by recreational and charter fishing ..Swapping small fish for large fish to stay inside the bag limit is common ..Exeeding the bag limit is common ..You may not but some do ..Noise from outboards , building of boat ramps ,anchor damage ,lost tackle and line ,prop strikes on turtles ,dugong etc..Commercial fishing is looked at as one industry ..Have a look at recreational fishing as one industry and the effect is large...Not to mention enviromental inpacts of producing the goods to use and fish from .. fuel burn etc ..You personally may have a very small effect but combined its huge .Bit tired of recs attacking Well managed and regulated Aussie fishing families with any thought of there impact ...And if you work in mine as well as fish recreationally towing your 200hp alloy with a V8 land cruiser again you might not but some do your enviromental impact is worth considering as well
Best you do some accurate research John .Over 85% of fish taken in GBR region is taken by recreational and charter fishing ..Swapping small fish for large fish to stay inside the bag limit is common ..Exeeding the bag limit is common ..You may not but some do ..Noise from outboards , building of boat ramps ,anchor damage ,lost tackle and line ,prop strikes on turtles ,dugong etc..Commercial fishing is looked at as one industry ..Have a look at recreational fishing as one industry and the effect is large...Not to mention enviromental inpacts of producing the goods to use and fish from .. fuel burn etc ..You personally may have a very small effect but combined its huge .Bit tired of recs attacking Well managed and regulated Aussie fishing families with any thought of there impact ...And if you work in mine as well as fish recreationally towing your 200hp alloy with a V8 land cruiser again you might not but some do your enviromental impact is worth considering as well
Yep , Using sea turtles as an example here's a few examples of how other factors contribute to their decline.
Apart from their natural predators they do have humans to contend with.
Commercial fishing practices in most developed countries have come a long way and the introduction of TEDs (Turtle Exclusion Devices) in trawl nets has made a big difference to turtle bycatch in that industry. Commercial and recreational fishing still contributes to some of the mortality rates but let's consider some others to be fair.
Human Consumption.... Some countries still have lax rules when it comes to this. Mexico for example.
Illegal turtle shell trade... Declining but still an issue.
Marine debris-Entanglement and Injestion... Entanglement from everything from discarded fishing gear to plastic onion sacks. Ingesting all sorts of floating plastics and man made debris.
Artificial Lighting...Coastal development and the lighting that comes with discourages females from nesting.
Coastal armouring... Sea walls, rock revetments etc
Beach erosion... reduces nesting site availability.
Beach Activities... Believe it or not many turtles get entangled in beach furniture globally. Apart from general human traffic there is also 4wd-ing issues in some areas.
Invasive Species... Domestic and feral dogs and cats being big offenders.
Marine pollution... Everything from chemical run-off to oil and petroleum spills.
I've only ever surfed in WA and Indo and I don't think I've ever felt the need to surf inside a shark net, in fact it's pretty cool when you get a visit from a pod of dolphins or the odd juvenile whale, seems like an outdated solution to the problem.
Do the huge commercial international fishing vessels that exploit our waters not have by-catch?
Or have we forgotten about those?
It seems we care for nature when its under our noses, but the truth is there are so many travesties in the way we treat our planet, ourselves and everything within that.
That we cannot keep up with them all. So we go for the flavour of the week. This week it is shark nets.
If we were serious about things. Take all the money that has been spent on military over time, and consider that money being spent on improving lives in every facet. Socially, recreationally and medically, just to name a few. We probably wouldn't need to be pointing those weapons at each other, but we as a human race cannot seem to do that. What does that say about us? Doesn't give me hope in ourselves, unfortunately. So it's up to people like those who do care for things to keep plugging away the best we can, to do our bit on making our world better. It's a pity the powers that be aren't with us on that.
Dear DBEARINDARE, I absolutely agree Sir. When I was a teen In the early 1980 period one of our teachers who was aware of the environment showed us an article that stated.," The World currently spends One Million $ per minute on the advancement of the Arms race " and/or the military build up. Imagine what that figure Is now? Horrifying. Money better spent on what you have stated. Maybe could have taken care of the cancer problems by now. I appreciate your comment. Could not be more right. Cheers to you.
LOOK! I have been a fisherman since before I was born. I know the damage the pros have made over the years. Thank The lord the Kingfish trapping was stopped. The fish have made a big comeback. Nearly all of us Catch and Release. I said on FB years ago PLEASE LEAVE THE SHARKS ALONE!!!!! Plus the devastation of bi-catch which Is what NETS DO.!!! Sharks by nature are not interested In Human Flesh! Now the Fish have returned they have plenty to eat. They swim below and above the nets anyway unless caught up in a slow painful death. Please remove all nets from ALL BEACHES NOW!!! ATTENTION Fishing MInister. Years ago that portfolio was managed by an ill informed fool who did not know the difference between a Tailor and a Mullet. AS It Is said" Get With The Program". Oh Ignorant Powers that be!!! SICK TO DEATH about this devastating killing field. Fix the Planet while you are at It and .,"NO MORE WAR PLEASE". Yours with Anger, John.
John, thanks for sharing your PASSION!!! Your life's experiences are testament of an evolved soul A worthy piece of advice and we must take heed of that message! Advocating respect and voicing concern when it’s needed.
We surfers can be pretty selfish at the best of times. Why is a sharks life less important than ours, if we surmise the true foundations of life on earth, we are not more important than that of a shark, or of a turtle or a dolphin, What have we done as a species that is so great for the health of the planet? It was only 250 years ago that indigenous cultures of the world managed the land perfectly under their own jurisdiction, they dived and surfed and procured food from the oceans, no shark nets then!
I assume these people respected the oceans and knew of the dangers of the life under and on top of the surface. They knew when the passage was safe or not by reading the signs, of the elements, the weather events, moons cycles, times of day and the seasons. Then along comes the western world peoples with their arrogant attitudes and decided that the indigenous cultures were actually dumb. They set forth to destroy this fabulous wisdom, (they didn’t succeed luckily) But they start from scratch to make up their own rules, rules made by the vested interests of our, so called intelligent decision makers directing us into how we live as a society today.
Bad decisions are being made all the time by our elected representatives from land clearing for Grazing to dredging passages through the Great Barrier Reef for shipment of the dirty black coal. For matters on land and in the water our decision makers are getting it wrong all the time! Ignorant, out of touch, not willing to read the signs of nature because mostly they simply cannot! They don’t have the wisdom, and hence so are we ignorant and out of touch.
We could learn so much of the wisdom from the indigenous cultures. And if we did we could start to make decisions that actually are realistic. It is unrealistic to venture into the ocean blindfolded, there are consequences and every time we jump in we take the risk, nets or not, but our highly tuned senses would be better assimilated if the false sense of security were not in in existence i.e. nets, making us more intelligent, less lazy, more in tune and better prepared for survival. And without the bycatch which by the way is a heinous act and should not be tolerated.
Thank You Dear Reform and Swellnet . I did not include a few valuable pieces of information. During the 80s and early 90s I was an avid kneeboard rider at Manly Beach and fairy Bower. By definition indigenous means you were born In this country. My fathers father was as black as ink. Maybe that helps to explain my inherited interest In the Land and Ocean. I was surfing Fairy Bower and Winkie one day when a shark grabbed my legrope and dragged me backwards. With my flippers I appear to them as a seal naturally. I paddled hard and fast and he/she let go. I caught a wave and came In shaken. A risk I am willing to take If surfing along the East Coast. I had to stop surfing due to a back condition very unfortunately. After the Shark experience I was still paddling half a kilometre In the dark the next day. Thousands die from car accidents every year so do we kill the cars and trucks? Here Is the thing. We see or perceive a threat and we take measures to remove it or destroy It! All done without any view to any consequences. As I have said before we are governed by Money, Power and Greed amongst other things. People should watch MASH episodes and see how Stupid we still are across the board. You are so right Reform. Keep up the great work Swellnet and never give up. God Bless to all.
Hey John ! No worries brother, I am of the Viking native mix some time back in 1060ad when my mob landed on the shores of Normandy. Drank wine, raped and pillaged whatever we could get our hands on. So the fable says, of course that’s not true but I do feel the courage and strength of my ancestors and there’s something there that I draw from for sure, ha!
But I’d like to think of entering the ocean as if I am entering someone else’s garden. Before I enter I need to be respectful of the territory and its inhabitants. If I visit a person’s house I don’t just barge in, go to the fridge, put the kettle on whilst flicking on the television to watch the live footy match (no bias intended). Boots and all while eating their only packet of crispy chips!
If I relate that to entering of the ocean the same set of principles should apply, The sea creatures are suffering man!
We pump our sewage shit into the ocean, out of sight out of mind, right! We should not be doing this but treating it on land. Jut to paint a picture There are whale’s, dolphin’s, dugongs, turtles, rays, sea horses, seaweed, sharks, fish large and small, hermit crabs in shells, crabs, coral. To name a few, these guys are suffering and now! The ocean is highly polluted and more and more acidic. We also net our beaches just to add to the carnage. This act really is barbaric. I would never have introduced such a vile weapon against the free living sea creatures that are territorial in these zones. As you say John “Remove the nets!” And now! No more suffering imposed on these animals, it is their domain, full stop. We can respectfully visit but visit with caution. Now if another method can be found that allows the uninhibited freedoms of the sea creatures without high frequency interference to them, would be great. I don’t have the answers but I know the current system is not a friendly one. That’s all thanks
Thank You reform. I bet you did not know this. Back in the late 70s,80s they built a tunnel out from North Head sewage treatment works near Manly, Fairy Bower about 3 kms straight out, East. The idea was to allow longshore drift to take It away and let It breakdown naturally out there. Quite often the system was overloaded so they pumped It RAW straight into the Bower area. Of couse In a southerly wind PLUS current they polluted the entire Northern Beaches. Conversely if North It all went toward South head to Bondi! They still do it as far as I know. We used to surf In smelly brown TUBES! We call It "The Shitworks".The smell in a southerly and current was literally sickening. People did get sick. Not only that the shit attracted fish which ate other fish as fish do. So there were people surfing In Shit and eating the fish full of Shit. Raw turd bud! It also contained Tampons and toilet paper plus all the yukkies people flush from all over Sydney. It gets worse. They thought that they would build a pipe 10 kms out hoping for a better result. After a surf you would be covered In these odd white balls of condensed Shit and bi-product. It all turned the fish on! It was a favorite spot to fish and still Is. "NATURAL BURLEY" ! My arse,sorry. They tried a similar method In the States somewhere. The "END" result was the longshore drift was not strong enough to disperse the waste. They ended up with a "DEAD SEA" area around the end of the pipe that became huge solid mass. Killing all marine life in its path. It got so big It made its way like a cloud in the water back towards the mainland. I knew of all this back then. Imagine what It Is like now? I have contacts who were a part of all the North head activities. Oh yes. When the whole system Is overflowing they release It through tunnels In Sydney Harbour. If I find out more I will "PASS" It on. Enough to make you really sick. Your reply replenished my memory!!! GREAT.
That's incredible and sick! I remember the implementation of that ocean outlet 3kms out to sea, I thought Warriewood, but yep, was the North Head plant. Ughh! Our elected ones, where are they on matters like this? What are they prepared to do or not do, the environment has to be looked after in the first place. Is that plant fixed up now? Surely it has to be! Another example of yuk is the Richmond river from Lismore treatment plant released for weeks and weeks raw sewage into the river during the floods which flows out to the Ballina beaches, Nice? Not! It’s a sad and bad system and can be fixed but they’re not acting. Tasmania too, Council signs displayed in the Derwent foreshore saying 'Swim at your own risk' due to high level contaminants in the water. From sewer discharge and now the Salmon farms with the poor acidic water quality, but it’s all over the world including the GBR, Crazy! We all need to have this discussion big time! Look after the natural forested areas these entities are doing the lion’s share of the work that provides real nutrients and health to the oceans and us, Builders and DIY’s Please think carefully when purchasing Hardwood either from Australia or Asia. I think plantation pine is better because it leaves the old growth forests alone. Although it also has its problems with GO modified pollutants emitting the environment and fertiliser contaminants entering the water catchment areas. The system is broken, sorry, but it can be fixed with the right mind thought, will power and money spent in the right places!
Hey John ! No worries brother, I am of the Viking native mix some time back in 1060ad when my mob landed on the shores of Normandy. Drank wine, raped and pillaged whatever we could get our hands on. So the fable says, of course that’s not true but I do feel the courage and strength of my ancestors and there’s something there that I draw from for sure, ha!
But I’d like to think of entering the ocean as if I am entering someone else’s garden. Before I enter I need to be respectful of the territory and its inhabitants. If I visit a person’s house I don’t just barge in, go to the fridge, put the kettle on whilst flicking on the television to watch the live footy match (no bias intended). Boots and all while eating their only packet of crispy chips!
If I relate that to entering of the ocean the same set of principles should apply, The sea creatures are suffering man!
We pump our sewage shit into the ocean, out of sight out of mind, right! We should not be doing this but treating it on land. Jut to paint a picture There are whale’s, dolphin’s, dugongs, turtles, rays, sea horses, seaweed, sharks, fish large and small, hermit crabs in shells, crabs, coral. To name a few, these guys are suffering and now! The ocean is highly polluted and more and more acidic. We also net our beaches just to add to the carnage. This act really is barbaric. I would never have introduced such a vile weapon against the free living sea creatures that are territorial in these zones. As you say John “Remove the nets!” And now! No more suffering imposed on these animals, it is their domain, full stop. We can respectfully visit but visit with caution. Now if another method can be found that allows the uninhibited freedoms of the sea creatures without high frequency interference to them, would be great. I don’t have the answers but I know the current system is not a friendly one. That’s all thanks
Make sure you have your lawyers ready when you get attacked in a pre-netted area. Stuff statistics, if it catches 1 hungry shark that's better than you or me! FULL STOP.
New shark listening station & baits placed on the Central Coast, NSW for tagged sharks reveal about one shark per day passes a receiver.
https://www.dorsalwatch.com/report/index.html?country=1
It is a reminder that the sharks are around & perhaps attracted to the baits.