Tourists oblivious to disturbing scene 500m off sunny Aussie beach
In waters off one of Australia's most popular beaches, something confronting was unfolding. Sunbathers, cafe patrons, and tourists in hotels that overlook the ocean would not have been able to see that 500 metres out, there was a dolphin in desperate need of help.
It likely would have died without anyone knowing if a drone operator hadn't noticed something shining on the water and become curious.
Their footage, supplied to Yahoo News, shows the dolphin trapped inside a two-metre-long net the state government had set and left to catch sharks off Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. The net is one of 27 laid along Queensland's coast as part of a program designed to reassure tourists the beaches are being protected.
Because the Shark Control Program (SCP) is controversial, the drone pilot who captured the vision has asked to remain anonymous, so we'll refer to them as 'Alex'.
'I was filming some surfers. Then I took the drone further out, and that's when I found the dolphin,' they said. 'At first, it made me feel anxious. As I got closer, I felt sick. My body felt really heavy.'
Alex is speaking out of concern that the system isn't equipped to free beloved Aussie species like dolphins when they're drowning in the nets. Currently, shark nets are only checked for wildlife every 48 hours, although the new state government plans to update the rules to make it daily.
When Alex called the SCP hotline to report their find on April 20, they were told it wasn't possible to send out contractors to investigate until the following day. It's likely the dolphin was already dead by that time.
Earlier on that autumn day, the weather had been a warm 27 degrees, and there was a light breeze ruffling the sand. But by the late afternoon, when the call about the dolphin came through, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says it had concerns about sending its contractors out as conditions had become unfavourable.
'Contractors were unable to respond immediately due to workplace health and safety concerns over fading light, weather conditions and large swells,' it told Yahoo News.
It said a boat was sent out at 'first light' the following day, but "unfortunately" they confirmed the animal was dead.
A separate clip provided by an anonymous source shows the dolphin dead in the water before the contractors arrived. A swimmer is understood to have taken the footage close to the animal, despite there being a 20-metre exclusion zone around shark nets under the Queensland Fisheries Act.
The 2025 dolphin entanglement is the first recorded at Caloundra since 2018, when a single animal was released alive. But analysis of the SCP shows dolphins are regularly killed by the program, with nine of the 12 caught in 2023 succumbing to nets or drumlines. That same year, two dugongs and five endangered turtles were also found dead in SCP devices.
In May, Yahoo reported on a massive manta ray becoming entangled in nets off Noosa beach.
Andre Borrell is the founder of Envoy Foundation and a critic of Queensland's use of shark nets. He argues the state government's need to operate under an exemption in its own Animal Care and Protection Act is a clear sign the SCP is 'cruel'.
'The whole core premise of this program is one of cruelty, and the only reason it can operate is because they've written themselves a loophole,' he said.
'Every death that happens is horrific, there's no good way that an animal dies in shark control equipment or at the hands of shark control contractors. We need to view everything about this program through that lens.'
Confronting picture showcases state of Aussie wildlife on world stage
Rare animal hiding in outback photo helps solve decades-long mystery
50-night search in Aussie forest uncovers worrying find
Critics of shark nets say they are not effective in preventing attacks because they are just 186 metres long and 6 metres deep, so sharks can simply swim around them. While it's acknowledged there are fewer incidents at beaches with nets, critics say the lower numbers are reflective of them being set in areas already patrolled by lifeguards who are able to actively warn swimmers about sharks.
NSW also has a shark netting program, and dolphins have been found dead in them on multiple occasions. But coastal councils around the state have indicated they no longer want them set off their beaches, and there will be pressure for the Minns Government to remove them when they are next reviewed.
In Queensland, the Crisafulli government appears to be taking the opposite approach. In May it announced it would be expanding the SCP, with an $88 million investment aimed at supporting the state's $33 billion tourism industry. This will include an investment in technology and innovation, but also a possible expansion of netting to six new beaches.
The minister for primary industries Tony Perrett said the program would be 'striking the right balance between ensuring swimmer safety and maintaining a healthy marine environment'.
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trainee Captain Reportedly Faints in Cockpit Moments After Landing Plane Full of Passengers
A Qantas trainee captain reportedly fainted moments after he landed a Boeing 737 passenger jet at Sydney Airport on June 10 The aircraft was still on the taxiway when the trainee captain told his first officer he didn't feel well and fainted Another captain on board took over and passengers were able to safely disembark the plane after it reached the gateA Qantas trainee captain reportedly fainted moments after landing a passenger jet in Sydney. The pilot had just touched the Boeing 737 down at Sydney Airport in Australia when the incident occurred on Tuesday, June 10 shortly before 7 p.m. local time, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The flight, Qantas QF804, was coming from Canberra Airport. In the middle of taxiing, the trainee captain reportedly told his first officer that he didn't feel well before losing consciousness. There were 113 passengers, eight crew members and three total pilots on board. One of the three pilots then took over and was able to safely taxi the aircraft to the gate. Passengers disembarked the plane without any further issue while the pilot was treated by paramedics, according to the outlet. 'The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is our priority and we're supporting the individual following the incident," a representative for Qantas tells PEOPLE. PEOPLE also reached out to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for comment but did not receive an immediate response. Earlier in March, another Qantas pilot reportedly experienced a medical emergency mid-flight, prompting the plane to make an urgent landing in Sydney. The plane was reportedly traveling from Brisbane when its captain began experiencing chest pains, leading to a priority landing request at Sydney Airport, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. There were 127 passengers and six crew members on board at the time. After the captain began feeling the discomfort, he reportedly asked for a defibrillator to be used on him, however the equipment was not used in the end, according to the outlet. The first officer, who flew the aircraft while the captain was being attended to, alerted air traffic controllers of the emergency and requested an expedited landing of the Boeing 737-800. The outlet reports that he declared a "medical PAN" to air traffic control, which stands for 'possible assistance needed.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. According to a spokesperson for Qantas said in a statement at the time: 'One of our pilots experienced chest pains during a flight from Brisbane to Sydney on Monday.' 'The other pilot was operating the aircraft at the time and landed the aircraft into Sydney as normal,' they added. 'The pilot was treated by paramedics at the gate and transferred to hospital.' Read the original article on People
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour confirmed to be in waters off Rhode Island after decades of research
Researchers have confirmed that the 18th-century British explorer Captain James Cook's lost ship found its final resting place in Rhode Island's Newport Harbor, solving a decadeslong mystery, according to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Two Australian historians, Mike Connell and Des Liddy, originally pinpointed the location of the ship, called HMS Endeavour in 1998, the museum said in a report released earlier this month. The museum's report detailed how a 26-year archival and archaeological research program ultimately determined that the Endeavour was, in fact, at the bottom of Newport Harbor as Connell and Liddy had thought. Captain Cook famously sailed the Endeavour across the Pacific Ocean multiple times in the mid-1700s. He is remembered for his voyage to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia, which he claimed for Britain, as well as Hawaii, where he ultimately met his fate in a dispute with indigenous residents. Cook's exploration of the islands laid the foundation for British colonization in those areas, which is why, for different reasons, it's an important part of Australian history, according to the museum's report. An engraving from "Complete History of Captain Cook's First, Second and Third Voyages," a compilation of Cook's expeditions published in 1784, shows the Endeavour on the shores of what is now Queensland, Australia, during the captain's South Pacific voyage between 1768 and 1771. Science & Society Picture Library / Getty Images "For some, the Pacific voyage led by James Cook between 1768 and 1771 embodies the spirit of Europe's Age of Enlightenment," the executive summary of the report reads, "while for others it symbolises the onset of colonisation and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples." After Cook's death, the Endeavour returned to England, which went on to use it for transporting British troops and detaining prisoners during the American Revolutionary War. It was sold to private owners, who renamed the ship Lord Sandwich, and deliberately sunk in Newport Harbor in the midst of war in 1778. When Australian maritime experts initially announced in 2022 that they believed the Endeavour was among a number of ancient shipwrecks still scattered across Newport Harbor, the claim was widely debated. But a partnership between the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and the Australian National Maritime Museum forged ahead with the research that eventually led to the wreck's identification. They are working to ensure that the wreck site is protected from now on. "Given Endeavour's historical and cultural significance to Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, England, the United States of America and First Nations peoples throughout the Pacific Ocean, positive identification of its shipwreck site requires securing the highest possible level of legislative and physical protection," the report says.
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Pretty wild': Rare sighting in tiny bay
Eight humpback whales on a heat hunt in a small bay along the NSW coastline have been captured in rare footage by a marine mammal rescue volunteer. Ty Peters spends four days a week during June monitoring whales off the Illawarra coast for Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA), an Australian not-for-profit dedicated to saving marine mammals. He headed down to Bass Point Reserve in Shellharbour, south of Sydney, about 10am on Monday and witnessed seven males chasing a juvenile female into Bush Rangers Bay. Mr Peters said when female humpbacks are on heat the males chase them and while that is relatively common, what was not common was the bay they swam into. 'We occasionally get one solitary whale going in there and investigating but to my knowledge that's the first time we've ever had a heat run go into the bay,' he said. 'Getting eight whales in that confined bay is pretty wild.' Mr Peters said what the drones did not capture was the incredible noise that came from the whales as they hunted down the female. 'The whales have got a really deep sound and it vibrates through your chest,' he said. 'They exert a lot of energy, which makes them get out of breath quite quick so their sound is deep. 'Then you've got the slapping of the tails and the pectoral fins, imagine dropping your front door just flat onto ground, you get that sound almost like a cannon launch.' Mr Peters said about 40,000 humpback whales swim past Australia's east coast each year, along with southern right whales, minkes, false killers and others. He said they sighted about 150 whales a day if the conditions were right for the huge mammals to migrate north to Queensland. 'If the currents are pushing north then they don't have to do a lot of work, which means they don't exert a lot of energy and don't have to breathe as heavy, they just cruise,' he said. 'If the ocean is flat then you don't get water splashing into the blowhole so they're very hard to spot then, whereas, if they're having to exert themselves a little bit more than they're taking deeper breaths. 'If it's a little bit choppy, then they're doing bigger blows to clear the air.' Mr Peters said one of the best vantage points to see the whales was along the Illawarra coastline and people could help ORRCA monitor the mammals swim past on their 2025 Whales Census Day on June 29 by registering at 'Whales are a protected species so there is 100m exclusion zone around whales for all watercraft and drones,' he said. 'We have quite a lot of problems with people coming in and flying 10ft above them.
