10 Humpback Entanglements in 9 Days – Crisafulli backs more shark nets

On Saturday 27th September, three more humpback whales were found entangled in Queensland shark nets, two at Rainbow Beach and one at Coolangatta. This marks eleven entanglements so far the 2025 migration season, with ten occurring in just the last nine days.

Despite mounting public concern and expert recommendations, the Queensland Government has opted to maintain shark nets during whale migration season. This decision contradicts advice from its own Scientific Working Group and an independent review conducted by KPMG, both of which recommended removing the nets during peak whale movements.

In addition to this, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli in May announced a plan to expand shark netting, and reinforced this plan in light of the recent entanglements stating the state is “not for turning” on its plan to expand shark netting.

Entanglements this season

So far this season, the known entanglement locations read like a grim tally:

• Coolangatta – 1 entanglement (Saturday)

• Rainbow Beach – 2 entanglements (Saturday), 2 last week (dragged into Hervey Bay)

• Mooloolaba – 2 last week

• Marcoola – 1 last week

• Noosa – 2 last week

• Coolangatta – 1 earlier this season (June)

Each of the entangled whales has been reported as “released alive” by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), but no post-release monitoring or long-term survival studies are conducted. As a result, the true impact on the animals remains unknown.

Shark Nets are Ineffective

In defending the shark net program, some government representatives have made claims that appear to contradict established scientific findings. Minister Tony Perrett recently stated:

“Traditional methods such as nets and drumlines are scientifically proven to be the most effective tool in protecting swimmers.”

This claim has been widely challenged and appears to have no basis in fact. In the case of Humane Society International (Australia) Inc v Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (Qld) in 2019, the judge found that "The lethal component of the SCP does not reduce the risk of unprovoked shark interactions. The scientific evidence before us is overwhelming in this regard."

When compelled to tell the truth under oath, it appears even the Government are forced to admit the program does not work as claimed. Requests for clarification on the scientific basis for Minister Perrett’s statement above have so far gone unanswered.

A Concerning Trend

This year’s entanglement numbers already place 2025 among the worst seasons on record for humpback whale entanglements in Queensland shark nets:

• 2019 – 5

• 2020 – 6

• 2021 – 4

• 2022 – 15

• 2023 – 11

• 2024 – 8

• 2025 – 11 (and counting…)

Public Pressure Mounts

The Queensland public has made its position clear: the ongoing entanglement of whales is unacceptable, particularly when evidence-based alternatives to lethal shark control exist. Non-lethal technologies such as drone surveillance, personal deterrents, swimming enclosures, and public education offer safer, more effective approaches to reducing risk to ocean users, without causing harm to marine life.

As the entanglement tally climbs, pressure is mounting on Premier David Crisafulli and his cabinet to take decisive action. The continued use of outdated and ineffective shark nets, in the face of clear evidence and community concern, risks not only the lives of whales, but also public trust in government decision-making.

As has long been the case, clinging to deceptive messaging that “human lives come first” as a justification for shark nets, simultaneously risks misleading the public into believing that shark nets are an effective safety tool, and also undermines trust in Government when it is exposed, sometimes in the most tragic of ways, to be untrue.