Contractors inhumanely towing Black Tip Reef Sharks through the water after a terrible death in the Gold Coast shark nets. Photo: Graham Long

Recent news articles in Australia are down playing the hundreds of marine life caught in Shark Nets in 2009.

At what number of catch do the QLD government think that it is no longer acceptable to do this practice? Hundreds? thousands? until they are all gone? Then what will the government do?

Sharks are Beautiful

We are all on this planet together, when we kill our kin we in turn kill ourselves

Rays are important too; hundreds of rays are caught every year in the Shark Control Nets

Every species has a right to live

Open your heart, see sharks through new eyes; they are amazing!

Pic above right: Harmless Black Tip Reef sharks are victims of the Shark Nets in Australia. They are pulled dead from the nets and now are being towed by the QLD Govt contractors to dump the carcass out to sea.

Sign the petition right to remove the shark nets from Australian waters.

Great White Dies in Dislodged Drumline off the Gold Coast, October 2008. Photo: Luke Sorensen

A 3.5m Great White Shark was caught and died in the shark nets off Sydney beach, at Bronte; on Saturday November 28, 2009.

Great whites are naturally curious and studies have proven that humans are not actually on the great white’s menu. Their main prey items include sea lions, seals, small toothed whales, sea turtles and carrion.

Scientists around the world agree that great white shark numbers are decreasing due to overfishing, fisheries by-catch, shark nets, shark finning and other factors. They are also listed as vulnerable species in NSW.

May the shark rest in peace and may no more suffer an uncalled for fate.

Please sign the petition right to remove these harmful nets.

Dugong, sea grass eating marine mammal. Reuters: stringer, file photo. Image Source: http://abc.net.au

Sea grass eating Dugongs are harmless marine mammals and are yet again victims of the shark nets. Like us humans, Dugongs require air to breathe and after getting tangled in the shark nets at Coogee Beach in Sydney (November 25, 2009) the Dugong could no longer surface for air to breathe and it drowned.

The unfortunate Dugong was approximately 2m long, so was not yet a full sized adult and still had many years in it’s 70 year life span remaining.

Usually Dugongs are found in sub-tropical to tropical waters but occasionally they do travel south and there have been a number of Dugongs caught within the NSW shark nets since there inception in 1937.

Get these shark nets removed, sign the petition (right).

Juvenile Humpback Whale gets caught in Shark Net off Mermaid Beach, 7th November 09. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World

A juvenile humpback whale  about 4.5m long, was entangled in a Gold Coast shark net for hours off Mermaid Beach, Gold Coast on Saturday morning 7th November.

The young whale was caught by netting around one pectoral fin, this shows the vulnerability of the whales to entanglement as they move past the shark nets.

It is the sixth whale caught in Gold Coast nets this migration season.

Please sign petition right to help Remove the Shark Nets.

Five whales have been trapped in Gold Coast shark nets this migration season. (AAP Image/Seaworld : Grahame Long)

John Wayne, Gold Coast Councilor for Division 2 has called for a ban on the shark nets on Gold Coast beaches.

“In my opinion the by-catch that we get – the non-target species – isn’t worth the damage that we cause.”

Councillor Wayne says the nets kill dozens of dolphins, rays, and turtles.

“They get caught in the net and drown or get caught on the hooks and drown,” he said. “It is a terrible waste.”

For the full story click here http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/05/2734040.htm

Information source www.abc.net.au

Humpback Whale Caught at Miami Beach in Shark Nets, September 09. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World

We currently have gathered about 1000 signatures, but WE NEED MORE!

The government will listen to the public voice, we are aiming for 500,000  signatures.

Please help us attain our goal to show the Australian NSW and QLD governments that we do not need the shark nets in Australian waters.

Are you a proud Australian?

Are you proud that marine life die everyday so that we can go swimming, surfing etc?

Come on Aussies, we don’t put nets in the bush to protect us from snakes… get these Shark Nets Removed!

7PM Project James Mathison’s Report on Shark Nets, Oct 19, 2009

10m Humpback Whale Caught in Gold Coast Shark Net September 09. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World

What are your views on this issue?

Personally I think that the Shark Control Program Managers role and should be reviewed immediately. This position of authority gives permission for killing wildlife to protect beach users; this role needs urgent review and attention.

Sign the petition right to show your support for the removal of the shark nets.

The 5th Humpback Caught in Gold Coast Shark Nets since September. Image Courtesy of www.goldcoast.com.au: Grahame Long/Sea World

Another Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was caught off Burleigh in a Shark Net off the Gold Coast on October 13, 2009. Since September 2009, this is an average of 1 humpback whale caught every 10 days.

That’s 5 humpback whales caught in Gold Coast Shark Nets since early September.

The entangled Humpback Whale calf was accompanied by a number of mature Humpback whales who were clearly distressed, particularly the mother who was displaying thrashing motions.

As humpback whale populations increase these shark nets are clearly a major threat to the survival of individual species that get caught in the nets. There are no studies that follow the movements of whales once they have been released, lesions from the nets can get infected and cause the whales to die on their migration.

Humpback Whale Trapped in Gold Coast Shark Net 2009. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World

Come on Gold Coast residents, lets act now! Lets show Tony Ham, QLD Dept of Primary Industries and Fisheries Shark Control Manager, the Qld Premiere and the Minister for Environment that we do not need the shark nets to protect us at the beach. We believe SA, WA, VIC and NT employ better strategies to monitor beaches (aerial surveys) – there are no shark nets or baited drumlines in any of these states.

There should be a NO HARM and NO KILL policy to protect humans, we live with nature on this planet.

Send a letter to the govt, school kids make a poster and send it to the govt… we can make a difference.

Kirra Surfstock Festival Nov 8, 2009. We will be there and very happy to meet people who want to get involved to see the shark nets removed.

Sign petition right to show your support.

Dolphin Floating Dead After Shark Net Entanglement at Freshwater Beach, Sydney, NSW. 10 October 2009. Image courtesy of Ecodivers.

An innocent dolphin was found caught in the Shark Nets at Freshwater Beach on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the dolphin was found floating dead and entangled in the indiscriminate net on October 10, 2009.

Why is marine life suffering because of  human fears? There should be a NO KILL policy in the aim to protect beach users.

ABANDON YOUR FEARS! If we do nothing we are responsible for the death of this dolphin. We must act now to remove the nets.

For more information on how you can get involved to remove the shark nets contact us

2.3m White Shark is beached on the Gold Coast on dislogded drum line; October 2008. Photo: Luke Sorensen.

Do you want to voice your opinion about the shark nets? Get onto Facebook,  join the Remove Shark Nets cause and share your stories, photos and videos.

Lets get these nets removed.

Why do humans think that we are better than all the other species on this planet?

Every species has a right to live.