OK - So this might have been asked before - but there wasn't much listed when I did a search.
In the wake of the annual whale vs shark nets problem:
What's peoples general opinion on shark nets?
Do people even know exactly how they work? From the response of people I talk to, the general idea is that the create a "barrier" like a stinger net - this of course not being true.
Isn't this type of "protection" a bit out dated?? The nets main objective is to kill sharks, lowering the population in a specific area and therefore reducing the chances of people/shark contact.
I'm not sure about the rest of Oz, but baited drums are another "protection system" ripe throughout QLD. Same objective, except they actively attract the sharks to the area first!!?
One would assume that the majority of the Seabreeze community would have a higher than normal appreciation for the oceans and their critters..?
They stop chop really well and should be investigated for making transportable, configurable speed strips.
If you assume sharks are too stupid to swim under the nets then you deserve to get eaten by said shark... 
Do a Google search on shark nets in South Africa.
The popular beaches around Durban have all been netted since the sixties where they have been particularly successful in reducing the number of attacks on swimmers. In the late fifties there were five fatalities in one month so they had a pretty serious problem and it was affecting tourism significantly.
Nets have two serious drawbacks - cost and environmental. If road safety is anything to go by then we will never justify the cost. The first dolphin or turtle to die in one will happen before the last net is set and we will have a press uproar.
Learn to live with them. As a kiter at Stockton we see them frequently. I am at a minuscule risk compared to the surfers and swimmers. They do not bother me at all for that reason.
^^
The South African topic is an interesting read!
It is true that there will probably never be a Government in Australia brave enough to remove the nets or drum lines.
But, if an area is that heavily populated with dangerous sharks, should we be swimming there at all?
Is it really worth reducing the local population just so we can go for a slightly (almost negligibly) safer swim?
We already kill over 100 000 000 sharks every year! Our fish populations rely on these guys to do their job - hunting down the sick, injured or mutated fish before they have a chance of infecting others or breeding.
Basically, without a healthy shark population, those of you who do enjoy a bit of fish and chips will start to struggle!..... well, there should still be plenty of chips!!
On a positive note:
There has been a huge shift in the water loving peoples attitude towards shark attacks.... Most victims seem to accept it was the risk they were taking by being out there, and not follow the old mentality of "Lets hunt down the one shark responsible" (Vic Hislop style
)
Shark nets indiscriminately kill large marine life, sharks (both maneaters and harmless), rays, dolphins, turtles, and whales.
It's possible that they even attract large sharks to scavenge on the entangled catch.
I think the only reason that they are still accepted is that the public doesn't understand that the nets don't prevent sharks from reaching the beach.
If you don't want to share the ocean with sharks, go swim in a pool.
I just saw today that Dave 'Rasta' Rastovich and a few others are sailing/paddling little hobie trimarans from Byron to Bondi to raise awareness of Marine environmental issues including Shark nets -
"the shark net issue is a real shocker, and if we see humpbacks or turtles caught in areas where they have nets we'll speak to people in those towns and highlight that issue and the fallacy of being protected by shark nets."
www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/from-a-dust-storm-to-the-stormy-seas-daves-ocean-crusade-20091002-gfjy.html
To me it is simple, if you want to play in the ocean, accept the fact that you have a risk of no longer being at the top of the food chain!
Before moving to QLD I spent many hours diving the gulf & west coast areas of South Australia (white pointer country). I made it clear to friends & family that I accepted the risk that I might get chomped, and if this should happen I did NOT want anyone to try to hunt down any hapless shark. (esp. not Vic Hislop)
Don't worry about getting nibbled by a shark, the drive to the beach is far more dangerous
Select to expand quoteSkid said...
To me it is simple, if you want to play in the ocean, accept the fact that you have a risk of no longer being at the top of the food chain!
^^what they said
Sharks are so nasty.
However as a wise man once said. "I have a deal with sharks, I don't go to the beach, they don't go to the pub"
So I reckon sharks are part of the deal if you like playing at the beach. If you don't like idea of sharing the water with them, stay out of the water. Don't put in nets and stuff to stop them enjoying their environment and home.
Recorded catch in QLD to 1988
Shark Control Program
Total Sharks: 1962-88 30,630
Dolphins: 1962-88 520
Dugongs: 1962-88 576
Turtles: 1962-88 3656
Rays: 1962-88 13,765
Source: Biological Conservation Journal
Pretty nasty numbers - dugongs are pretty rare aren't they?
I read years ago that there's one particular net off southern goldie, near currumbin maybe, that accounts for around 70% of marine life kills by shark nets in QLD. Have searched but I can't find anything about it now.
We better remove the roads too! Cars are killing us all and at a much faster rate.
Friggin horrible things those nets!
**** the sharks .. man kind is top of the food chain for a reason .. what if some one u knew got killed by a shart attack ?
A friend of mine had a classic shart attack in Cambodia. Apparently everyone who goes there does but he managed it in the foyer of a hotel on white tiles.
The quantity was such that it ran down his leg and he slipped in it.
It was quite busy but the miracle was that he managed to avoid detection!
Kiteman dave, .......your good with figures i see.....
pray tell me how many Dugong have been chased down by
aust native people in tinnys, with big HP motors hanging
out the back, then pulled ashore with rope tired to the toyota????
and then eaten.
p .s. i do know they are entitled to hunt Dugong, in the traditional manner,
i e a bark canoe and paddle. I think they are now into rubber duckys,
purchased by govt agency's and ngo's
i will reply to the question with another question...
what traits will the sharks after many generations have that will keep them away from nets through natural selection to that of the sharks that have died from the sharks nets.?
any ideas?
