A majority of environment, business and water user groups overwhelmingly supported the trial removal of shark nets during the whale migration season when they were called to a meeting last Friday, organised by Oceans for All and chaired by Noosa MP Sandy Bolton to gauge their positions on the subject.
The meeting comes two years after the Sunshine Coast Branch of Surfrider initiated a round table discussion regarding the removal of shark nets in the Noosa Shire, also chaired by Noosa MP Sandy Bolton, during which the working party, Oceans for All, was formed.
Ms Bolton said tasks raised at the October 2023 meeting were for representatives to work with their groups to obtain their positions on whether they supported shark nets being removed during whale migration as part of a trial, and to work within the community to ensure credible information was dispersed.
In 2024 a Noosa MP survey found more than 75 per cent of responders did not support the continued use of shark nets at Noosa Main Beach.
Given recent whale entanglements and a poor response to an email from Oceans for All sent in August calling for groups to state their position, the decision was made to call a meeting.
“This is about a community united because that’s how you have a definitive say to state government because they are understandably reticent to do certain things because there is very much a blame culture and there is a fear associated,” Ms Bolton said. “It is very important it is a united community and regardless of any decision made by the state government, should they allow Noosa to be part of the trial should there be any unintended consequences it’s not a case of blame game.”
Attendees were provided with an information sheets prior to the meeting which outlined relevant points relating to the issue, which Ms Bolton reiterated at the meeting.
These include that:
“Queensland is the only state that maintain year round shark nets.
Studies show there are no conclusive evidence shark nets reduce the risk of bites or fatalities.
The independent KPMG report recommended shark nets be removed during migration season.
It’s been well documented that sharks go under and around the nets and are often on this side of the nets.
There is also the reality we have a river full of bull sharks and that river is used consistently, every day by paddle boarders, swimmers and everyone else and I haven’t been able to find where there’s been an attack and that is an un-netted river.
Alternatives – there are many that have been trialled including the drones, which have moved out of trial phase to permanent.
Despite all of this the new Queensland government maintains they will expand the nets including to Peregian Beach.”
Noosa Mayor Frank Wilkie told the meeting the KPMG Shark Control Program Evaluation Report had been “a bit of a game changer”.
“It was excellently researched, had a lot of good data in there. Some of the key data was that shark nets account for 10 per cent of the annual catch in Queensland, also 4:1 ratio of bycatch. So they’re very ineffective at catching large volumes of sharks but very effective at catching bycatch – dolphins, rays, turtles and humpback whales. We know the humpback whale population is increasing so we’re going to see increasing incidences of entanglements which are very distressing,” he said.
“In July Noosa Council passed a mayoral minute endorsing recommendation 3.2 of the KPMG report that the nets be removed as a trial during whale migration season but also moved a motion that we take to the Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ) conference that the state government supports any local government that wishes to trial shark net removal during whale migration season.
“The KPMG report studied jurisdictions in Australia and overseas and made the statement that Queensland is the only jurisdiction that does not remove shark nets during whale migration season. If the state government went that way it would not be a unique situation.”
Cr Wilkie said after contacting the Primary Industries Minister as part of its advocacy it received a reply that the state government was increasing its shark control measures. Council will continue its advocacy, Cr Wilkie said.
“We believe there are opportunities for other avenues to put the case that Noosa be considered for a special case because of the nature-based tourism that’s offered here and also that it’s a biosphere reserve which is a place that describes a living laboratory where new systems are tested to improve the way we humans interact with nature,” he said.
“It would be wonderful to be able to say we had the support of groups when we are doing this advocacy.”
Among the attending groups that supported the trial removal of the shark nets during the whale migration season were Hastings Street Association, Sea Shepherd, Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation, Noosa Parks Association, Noosa Masters Swimming Club, Ocean swimmers, Wildlife Noosa, Surfriders Sunshine Coast, Noosa youth parliamentarian Jarrah Small, University of Sunshine Coast shark researcher Dr Bonnie Holmes, Coolum & North Shore Coast Care, Oceans for All and tourist operator Whalesong Noosa. Tourism Noosa conducted a poll of its 480 members, receiving 160 responses overwhelmingly in support of the trail shark net removal.
A couple of groups supported the removal of shark nets if they were replaced with alternate measures.
The Surf Life Saving Clubs backed the state government, taking a neutral position on the shark net removal trial. Noosa Boating and Fishing Alliance was against removing the shark nets until community members who spend time in the water “say together we’re all for their removal”.
A Noosa World Surfing Reserve representative said they opposed the shark net trial removal because of a lack of consultation with key stakeholders with council prior to the mayoral minute, the absence of non-bias data based on fact not emotion to enable the reserve to express its decision, and a lack of information on what science-based alternatives would be used instead of nets.
