Eumundi Rotar y shar ing the voices of Eumundi and sur round s Issue 90, Thursday 4 April 2024
SHARK NETS IN LAGUNA BAY
Shark nets may capture unintended marine animals which unfortunately do not survive – including whales, dolphins, turtles, rays, dugongs and non-targeted sharks. On the Sunshine Coast last year seven whales were entangled in shark nets. A member of the newly-formed group Oceans for All Noosa, Bernard Jean said, “We’ll never know if it was a coincidence or not that a whale calf washed up on Byron Bay beach, was the same one that had been freed from Noosa nets and
released in distress by a specialised contractor boat.” Oceans for All Noosa was formed to examine alternatives to the shark nets which were first installed in 1962 at Laguna Bay. The group aims to have the nets removed and replaced with more effective and humane technology – without undermining swimmers' safety – before the next whale migration season from June to November. It comprises members from the Surfriders Cont. p3