A UOW researcher has welcomed NSW Premier Mike Baird’s signal of support for alternative shark safety measures that may see an end to the controversial beach netting policy.
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Mr Baird met with marine groups on Friday to discuss the shark meshing program that includes 50 beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong.
More than 190 creatures, including sharks, turtles, dolphins and whales, became tangled in nets between September 2013 and April 2014. Most died.
“I’m very supportive of looking at new technologies to keep our beaches safe,” Mr Baird told the Mercury, saying he would ask the Minister for Primary Industries to investigate new shark safety measures.
“I have asked [No NSW Shark Cull] to work with local councils to find a community that may be interested in a trial.”
Between September 2013 and April 2014, 25 animals, including grey nurse sharks, bronze whalers, hammerheads, great whites and rays, were found dead in Illawarra nets.
Associate Professor Andy Davis, director of UOW’s Institute for Conservation Biology and Environmental Management, said he supported any move to rid the coast of shark netting.
“It’s brilliant. Anything that would minimise the impacts on marine species is fantastic.The nets are not as effective as people think,” he said.
Assoc Prof Davis said a number of alternative measures were being trialled around the world.
“There are devices that give out an electric or acoustic pulse,” he said.
Technology being trialled also uses air bubbles and a plastic kelp-like curtain to deter sharks from beaches. He said marine biologists already used shark shields’’ that emitted a minor electrical signal, warding off nearby sharks.
“There has been a push to see whether they could be used to protect beaches,” Assoc Prof Davis said.
“If they got rid of the nets, it would be fantastic.”