Misinformation the greatest threat to shark safety

SYDNEY (24 March 2025)—A Daily Telegraph article, airing concerns over the removal of shark nets, is exactly the type of misinformation threatening our marine life and the safety of swimmers, says Humane World for Animals. 

The article quotes South Maroubra SLSC Club President, Paul Fownes, who states that alternatives to shark nets (SMART drumlines and drones) were not up to the task of protecting swimmers and specifically the nippers that fall under his responsibility. 

Mr. Fownes did not refer to shark listening stations which detect tagged sharks and is one of the alternatives to nets. 

‘We absolutely understand Mr Fownes’ concerns but unfortunately, they are based on emotion, not fact,’ said Lawence Chlebeck, a marine biologist and shark expert with Humane World for Animals Australia (formerly Humane Society International Australia). 

‘Our greatest concern is the false sense of security the nets give and people assuming they’re safe, especially those like Mr. Fownes who is responsible for the safety of children. 

‘Shark nets do not work the way many people assume they do. They are not a barrier to the open ocean but are merely 150m long and six metres high and are anchored in 12m of water a few hundred metres from shore. Logic will tell you that any shark can swim over, under or around a net, particularly at a beach like Maroubra which stretches for about a kilometer,’ Chlebeck said. 

To prove the point, almost half of the sharks caught in the shark nets are caught on the beach side of the net. 

‘If Mr. Fownes is relying on the shark net to keep nippers safe, then we urge him to look further into the issue and help promote the use of modern alternatives like drone surveillance, shark listening stations and SMART drumlines which are consistently shown to outperform shark nets by an astronomical rate,’ Chlebeck said. 

‘If we truly want to put people’s safety first, then we need to stop putting our trust in 100-year-old technology and start relying on modern safety measures,’ he said. 

Shark nets were introduced to Sydney beaches in 1937. 

The nets, not to be confused with netted enclosures at harbour beaches, are located off 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong. In the most recent figures, from 2023, only 15 targeted sharks—white, tiger, and bull—were caught in the nets. The remaining 240 animals included turtles, rays, dolphins and harmless sharks. 

Nets just on Sydney beaches caught zero target sharks during the 22/23 shark net season and only three the following (23/24) season. During that time, those same nets caught 124 rays, turtles, dolphins and smaller sharks, essentially ringing the dinner bell for larger animals that prey on animals caught in the nets.

The nets are a public safety liability. 

‘No one wants to see a harmless ray, dolphin or a turtle killed in a net,’ Chlebeck said, ‘but unfortunately it is happening most days. We also know that vulnerable species like the grey nurse shark are regularly entangled and even Sydney’s little penguins.  

‘This is a huge price to pay for a misguided assumption of safety. There is no point in just feeling safe, we actually need to be safe. Shark nets don’t keep us safe. They kill indiscriminately and offer nothing more than a false sense of security. 

‘Let’s stop arguing with emotion and let’s start looking at the science. Our safety depends on it, and so do the lives of innocent marine life.’