For years, sea turtles have been nesting along the east coast of Australia – but as global heating causes waters to warm, the marine animals are pushing farther south and into areas off Sydney where shark nets are in place every summer.
In anticipation of increased turtle activity in April next year, the New South Wales government has announced it will remove the shark nets one month early, on 31 March.
The effort has been welcomed by experts, who say swimmers should not be concerned, and prompted calls for the permanent removal of nets.
“Nets are an outdated antique of beach safety, and taking them out will not increase the risk for swimmers,” said Dr Christopher Pepin-Neff, the author of Flaws: Shark Bites and Emotional Public Policymaking, said.
“It will, however, be more balanced for the active marine ecosystem that functions along the beaches.”
Sea turtles move large distances during summer, from feeding grounds to areas where they undergo reproduction, University of the Sunshine Coast associate professor Kathy Townsend said.
While animals often head to the Great Barrier Reef to nest on coral caves, experts have found the sea turtles are starting to move earlier – and further south.
“Climate change is occurring, and we have got movements shifting as the sands and temperatures get warmer,” Townsend said.
Coming out of an El Niño and heading into a potential La Niña also changes water temperatures and the behaviours of animals who “are starting to move polewards”.
Townsend said sea turtles generally tend to move closer to the coast.
“Unlike a lot of other large pelagic species, [sea turtles] do actually have a very defined coastal stage,” she said. “The ones that are coming in for reproductive reasons need to be close to the coast, because the females are ultimately coming up on to land to lay their eggs.”
More than 90% of the marine animals that were caught in shark nets off the coast of New South Wales were non-target species, and concern for sea turtles moving closer to human-made objects during migration has been building.
“Anywhere you have human activity, like nets, there is always potential for negative interaction [for marine life] like entanglement,” said Dr Vanessa Pirotta from Macquarie University.
Under the government’s new Shark Management Program, nets will be inspected every two days instead of three, and drone usage increased on days when nets are not being inspected, to scope for turtles that may have become trapped.
Lights will also be used on the nets in February and March to deter turtles, and dolphin pingers and whale alarms will be fitted.
“The NSW Government will continue to prioritise the safety of beachgoers this summer, while increasing protections for marine life,” said the agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty.
‘Nets don’t stop shark bites’
Shark nets were “like throwing a napkin into a pool”, according to Pepin-Neff.
“They are open at the top, they are open at the bottom, they are open on both sides.”
“[About] 40% of sharks caught in nets are caught on the swimmer side, the side of the beach, trying to get out … so the net is not keeping them out.”
Beaches in Durban and Natal, South Africa, have reduced shark nets by 30% with no uptick in shark bites, Pepin-Neff said. During the second world war, shark nets were removed in NSW, “and there was no increase in fatal shark bites,” he said.
“It is very important for Australians to know that sharks are part of a natural ecosystem,” Pirotta said. “Humans … interact with sharks every day in Sydney.”
While the state government intends to engage with local councils on shark management, advocates have called for the total removal of nets and awareness of smarter technology to replace them.
“While we welcome the announcement to shorten the meshing season, we can’t ignore the fact that the nets will still be in place for six months,” said Lawrence Chlebeck, marine biologist with Humane Society International Australia.
“[The government knows] shark nets don’t stop shark bites, and they know nets are killing marine animals.”
Emma Hurst, an Animal Justice Party MP in the NSW upper house, also said the nets should completely removed.
“Reducing the shark-netting season by one month and adding some lights is an absolute joke. Hundreds of animals will still die this netting season and it could have been absolutely avoided.”
Pirotta and Pepin-Neff suggested SMART drumlines, which are already used in locations across the NSW coast, as a plausible replacement for nets.
These are anchored to the sea floor and bait and catch sharks while avoiding turtles, dolphins and whales, Pepin-Neff said: “They reduce all the bycatch, and catch just as many sharks.”
The premier, Chris Minns, acknowledged 21 out of 25 coastal councils had stated publicly they did not want shark nets because of the threat to marine animals.
But he said the government would decide whether or not to use them.
“I’ve got to be comfortable that that [alternative] technology is good enough to be brought in at scale. And I’m not prepared to make that call this year,” he said.
“I’m not pretending this is a perfect outcome, but, of course, we’ll continue to talk with councils.”
Minns said he was “not prepared” to say that NSW would eventually stop using shark nets altogether.
