Ali Be

The recently published Queensland SharkSmart drone trial report confirms what the science behind shark interaction mitigation has long asserted : non-lethal aerial surveillance (drones) are substantially more effective at spotting sharks than catch-and-kill equipment such as shark nets and drumlines. During the trial, conducted under the Queensland Government’s Shark Control Program (SCP), drones recorded 676 shark-sighting events, compared to just 284 sharks caught in adjacent SCP gear...

The NSW Government’s 2025 Shark Meshing Program began in September, and hidden Government files obtained regarding the first month of operation have already exposed a troubling reality. Images obtained under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (GIPA) reveal that on the first fortnight of the shark nets being redeployed, a tiger shark, one of the DPI’s ‘target species , was caught and killed on the Central Coast’s Shelly Beach, and left to attract larger sharks to the area. When the carcass...

A juvenile humpback whale has tragically drowned after becoming entangled in a shark net at Coledale Beach, NSW, marking yet another failure of the NSW Shark Meshing Program. The young whale, like thousands of others migrating along Australia’s east coast, was on its southerly journey back to Antarctica when it became ensnared. This whale never made it home. Despite the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) claiming to remove shark nets during the whale migration season, this...