NSW beach-lovers who are afraid to go back in the water should not expect new shark protection measures to be fully implemented in time for summer, the state government says.
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“The public is sophisticated and the public generally gets it, that there are better alternatives that will make them safer”.
The summit was called after a number of attacks and sightings in New South Wales this year, including a fatal attack on a Japanese Surfer at Ballina on the north coast in February.
Marine biologist Daryl McPhee of Bond University, who helped the state government compile a preliminary list of options, said the recent innovations had increased researchers’ understanding of shark behaviour.
But he has ruled out any wholesale cull of great white sharks, which are protected under NSW law.
But correspondents say that only one deterrent – a shark spotting program – is considered by the authorities to be suitable for immediate trial.
Detection methods include a smart drumline where sharks are removed from hooks before they die, and the “Clever Buoy”, which uses sonar technology to search for shark-sized objects.
“We see the independent review and the consultation at today’s summit as the first step towards moving away from the archaic idea that killing sharks guarantees to protect humans”, Kennedy said.
Geremy Cliff said he was looking at replacing net and drum lines with electromagnetic repellents that covered large areas.
Earlier this year Australian surfer Mick Fanning survived an attack at Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa, fighting off the predator with his fists before safely returning to shore.
Nuff found 80 percent of residents in the Ballina region – where the shark attacks have occurred – are opposed to lethal methods in response to shark attacks with a third calling for research into human-shark interactions. There has recently been a rise in shark attacks in NSW in 2015.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair addressed the 70 scientists gathered at Taronga Zoo on Tuesday, saying shark bites and fatalities remained rare but he understood why beachgoers wanted action.
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Children playing near a shark net in New South Wales.
