Shark Meshing: Saving Swimmers or Hurting Wildlife?
Humpback Whale Entanglement in Shark Net Viewed from Underwater. Photographer: Grahame Long/Sea World
Associate Professor Clyde Wild the Dean (Academic) of Griffith University’s Science, Environment, Engineering & Technology group has written this insightful news report for Griffith News Now.
Excerpt from Griffith News Now Story:
“Of course, no action on the scale of meshing beaches is without unplanned effects, and, in addition to catching a couple of hundred sharks each year, the Gold Coast shark meshing program also catches a few whales and dugong, a dozen or so dolphins and sea turtles, and a lot of other medium-sized sea creatures such as rays and larger fish. A small number of endangered sharks such as grey nurse are caught, and even an occasional great white. Most of these creatures are killed in the process. This is a real cost to our marine environment, and it ought to have real benefits to be justified”.