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Hammerhead sharks spotted inside nets at Australia’s most famous beach as doubts are raised as to whether they really work
- Two hammerhead sharks were seen swimming inside the nets at Bondi Beach
- The images of the sharks called into question the efficacy and safety of the nets.
- One report found that 80 percent of wildlife caught in nets were non-target species
A pair of hammerhead sharks have been spotted in nets off one of Australia’s most popular beaches.
Images from Drone Shark app founder Jason Iggleden showed two sharks swimming off the coast of Bondi Beach in eastern Sydney on Monday morning.
Doubts have been raised about the effectiveness of the nets given the ease with which the shark pair managed to evade them.
Australian Marine Conservation Society scientist and conservationist Dr Leonardo Guida said the safety nets provide for sharks is not enough to counteract the damage they cause to other species.
Two hammerheads (archive example above) were seen swimming inside shark nets off Bondi Beach on Monday
“Hammerhead shark species are threatened in Australian waters,” he said. nine news.
“The fact that these two were seen on the beach side of the net shows how outdated and ineffective this measure is.”
Wildlife scientist Dr. Vanessa Pirotta said the nets don’t completely separate swimmers from potentially dangerous wildlife.
“Sharks can swim around them, which is why we sometimes see sharks and other marine life inside the nets,” he said.
However, Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders defended NSW’s anti-shark strategy.
“The NSW Government Shark Management Program is the largest and most comprehensive in the world,” he said.
“We know there is no silver bullet when it comes to protecting beachgoers from sharks, so we use a number of mitigation strategies, including smart drum lines, shark listening stations, a Shark Smart app for keep swimmers, drones and shark nets informed.
‘Our program is deliberately multifaceted to ensure maximum protection.’
Shark net safety in Sydney has been called ‘ineffective’ and faces criticism for killing non-target wildlife (a shark net in Mosman pictured)
A report published in July found that more than 80 percent of wildlife caught in shark nets were not target species.
Species targeted by the nets include great white, tiger and bull sharks.
The report called for shark nets to be removed from the state’s shores and the mayor of Waverley, which covers Bondi and other major Sydney beaches, said they “create a false sense of security”.
However, the Department for Primary Industries has defended the use of nets and the report’s recommendations were rejected.
There are 51 shark nets along the 250km central New South Wales coastline, from Newcastle to Wollongong.
They are laid from September to April each year, each covering 150 m with a depth of about 10 m and a height of six meters.