A token shift: NSW’s shark net ‘transition’ raises far more questions than answers

With the recent announcement from the NSW Government to transition their lethal shark meshing program by removing of just three shark nets out of the 51 currently deployed along the NSW coastline, the DPI has also announced that the trial of LED lights on the shark nets to deter turtles and other ‘non-target’ species, will be expanded to include all 51 nets throughout the entire meshing season.

Early annual shark net removal

Every year since 1989, shark nets have been removed from NSW waters at the end of April to accommodate for whale migration, and are brought back in September. In 2025 that changed, with shark nets being removed at the end of March instead. The official reason given was to ‘protect turtles’ and reduce overall bycatch, but the data doesn’t appear to support this.

NSW shark net data from the last decade reveals that more turtles were caught in December and January than in the trial’s window. This makes it seemingly more apparent that the trial is less about data-driven or science-led conservation and more about presenting a politically palatable gesture, the smallest possible change to the program, as something worthy of plaudits. 

Conducting the trial outside the peak turtle entanglement season casts doubt on its ability to produce meaningful results.

Although any step taken in the right direction must be welcomed, it’s also important to look further than nice sounding press releases and soundbites. 

LED light trial

In addition to a one month early removal, LED lights were trialled on shark nets in Feburary–March to reduce turtle catch. Documents obtained via FOI show that this trial had been discussed for over five years, but 2025 was the year that they decided to trial the lights. Seemingly, the NSW Government’s data with the latest LED light trial continues to reveal a costly and outdated program delivering diminishing returns.

Albeit the catch data reveals no turtle entanglements during the light trial of February and March, it also results in a substantially lower catch rate of target sharks, which defeats the whole purpose of their use. Whilst science suggests there is no correlation between target shark catch and beach safety, the Department insists there is. According to DPI’s 2024/25 catch data, only three target sharks were caught during the February and March light trial. In comparison, over the past decade that figure during February and March was higher on average. This aligns with the fact that these lights are used in other fisheries around the world to actually deter sharks. Shark bycatch by commercial fishers was reportedly reduced by 95% by using LED lights.

New Imagery of Deceased Sea Turtles From NSW Shark Nets

Thus, if shark nets are now failing to catch target sharks whilst continuing to harm non-target species with the wasteful use of LED lights, their value as a public safety tool is increasingly untenable.This trial and further rollout has undermined the core purpose of the program, catching target sharks, no matter how misguided that purpose may be. 

This raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the program, especially when considering the continued high rate of bycatch, over 90% of all animals caught in the nets were non-target species in the entire 24/25 cull season.

The public funds currently allocated to the shark culling nets (approx. $2.6 million) should be used to transition shark net contractors into roles supporting non-lethal alternatives that protect both human lives and marine life. There is a compelling case to support secure employment by re-allocating these funds to scaling up modern, non-lethal technologies already in place across the NSW coastline since the current Shark Meshing Program operates at the cost of zero outcomes, the unnecessary loss of marine life, and even potentially attracting more target sharks to predate upon the deceased carcasses on the nets.

New Imagery of Critically Endangered Leatherback Turtle From NSW Shark Nets

One fact remains, the non-existent correlation between culling sharks, and the reduction of negative shark interactions between humans and sharks. 

According to the most extensive analysis done to date, there is no evidence to assert that such a correlation is apparent, so the bigger question here is not simply why is such a small change to an ineffective program being masqueraded as being data driven and focussed on turtle conservation, but why is that science being ignored and an ineffective shark cull being allowed to continue in the name of politics?