On January 3, Sea Shepherd’s Apex Harmony crew saw six animals caught in Gold Coast Shark nets. The Sea Shepherd crew were monitoring the 11 shark nets and 35 drumlines off Gold Coast beaches when they noticed the Shark Control Program contractor replacing nets at Surfers Paradise beach.
The following animals were observed caught in the nets:
- Kurrawa Beach net: Hammerhead – small (~1m) deceased
- Burleigh Beach net: 1.8-2m female black tip shark AND one other unknown animal (probably a ray)
- Currumbin Beach net: 2 cownose rays, alive but discarded overboard by contractor, bloody and injured
- Bilinga Beach net: Shark alive – likely a dusky whaler – killed on board the contractor’s boat
Currently, Queensland Fisheries is attempting to implement a 20m exclusion zone on all of the Shark Control Program gear.
This move by the Queensland Government has nothing to do with safety or interference and everything to do with reducing transparency
Sea Shepherd said.
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The organization also added that the Department of Fisheries does not provide oversight of the contractors’ work and this has encouraged illegal activity sometimes.
For this reason, Sea Shepherd called for a move of the QSCP from the Department of Fisheries to the Department of Environment and Science where there is much more likelihood of progress in providing beach safety.
