What are Shark Nets and Drum-Lines?
Exposing a Section of a Gold Coast Shark Net, 2009. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World
The nets employed in the Shark Control Programs do not stretch across the entire length of the selected beach, nor do they extend from the sea floor to the water’s surface, they only act as an obstruction to the shark’s path when they enter beaches.
Click Here for Shark Net Image
The nets are attached to buoys and anchors at each end, in Queensland they are 186m long and 6m deep with a mesh size of 500mm; the large mesh nets target sharks with a length of 2m or more.
The nets are placed offshore and run along the shoreline.
The drum-lines (only used in QLD) have a large hook that hangs from a chain that falls from the buoy and is freshly baited with mullet or shark. This attracts feeding sharks - the Irony!
Click Here for Shark Drum-line Image
The Shark Control Program employs independent contractors to maintain the nets and drum-lines approximately once every 2nd day depending on weather conditions.
Images Courtesy of QLD DPI&F.