One of the many councilors among state MPs lobbying for the removal of shark nets in beaches north of Sydney is Waverly Council Mayor, Paula Masselos.
This will be the first time the beaches would open in 100 years, following questions regarding what happens to injured marine animals entangled in shark nets.
The state government’s shark net program aims to deter three species of sharks – the tiger, white and bull shark – however, it’s efficacy is limited. Even though the government states it works in collaboration with Taronga Zoo to nurse the wildlife back to health, the zoo argues it hasn’t received animals that are being caught in nets in years.
“The nets are only 150 metres long, they are six metres high and they are put at a depth of about 10 metres. So sharks in fact can swim around, under and over them,” Mayor Masselos announced, arguing that “shark nets really aren’t actually very effective I don’t think in actually stopping the sharks from coming in”.
Given that Bondi is 1000 metres, Bronte is 220 metres, Mayor Masselos explained that the council was in ongoing discussions with DPI and did not support shark meshing on its Bronte and Bondi beaches, but favoured other shark mitigation options.
“The use of technology to monitor shark movements is a much better option to keep our swimmers and surfers safe while protecting threatened marine species,” she said stressing that statistics from 2019 show that “only 19 sharks that were actually dangerous to humans were caught in the nettings”.
“There were more than 140 non-target sharks and other marine species such as dolphins, dugongs and turtles that were actually caught in these nets,” she added, promising that Waverly Council is looking to implement other shark mitigation options and would soon be introducing drones for lifeguards to have more comprehensive surveillance of beaches.
“Very soon our professional Waverley lifeguards will be using shark spotting drones to keep swimmers & surfers safe in the water,” Mayor Masselos tweeted.
“At last night’s Council meeting I was thrilled my Mayoral Minute calling for the development of Waverley Lifeguards Drone Shark Patrol was supported.”
Very soon our professional Waverley lifeguards will be using shark spotting drones to keep swimmers & surfers safe in the water. At last night's Council meeting I was thrilled my Mayoral Minute calling for the development of Waverley Lifeguards Drone Shark Patrol was supported. pic.twitter.com/bNqdoJBJu3
— Paula Masselos (@paulamasselos) August 17, 2022
Lastly, speaking to tech platform 2GB Drive, she said that while protecting human life will always be the priority, the shark nets are “very old technology. They’re quite static”.
“The new technology that is around now like smarts drums, like aerial surveillance – drones, they talk to each other, so we actually know what’s going on,” she concluded.
