Late-night beach find highlights sad reality of Aussie state's $88 million pledge

Yahoo

2 days ago

While most Aussies were sitting down to dinner, watching TV on the couch, or out grabbing a beer at the pub, a small group of beachgoers was waist-deep in water to start the weekend. They were crowded around a manta ray, a large protected species of fish that visitors flock to Queensland's warm waters to photograph.
But what occurred in the popular tourism town of Noosa on Friday night isn't something you'll see in holiday brochures. This manta ray had rope and chain wrapped around it, and a hook deep in its mouth. Scratches around its body, and bites from tiny fish around its mouth and long lobes it uses for communication, indicate it had been unable to move for a long time.
When wildlife rescuer William Watson arrived at the beach, his first thought was that the fish was wrapped in a boat's anchor. He worked with a group of locals for more than an hour to try and cut it free.
'He was very tired and very weak. He must have been thrashing and got himself twisted around,' the Wildlife Noosa founder told Yahoo News. 'He had a hook through the side of his mouth, I had to pull it out backwards, because you couldn't cut it.'
As the creature slowly swam away, he began to process what had happened. The equipment that had caught the manta ray wasn't from an anchor. It appeared to have been deliberately set.
The chain and hook looked to be part of a drumline, a type of baited hook placed strategically around the coast by the state government. The purpose of these devices is to catch seven target species of shark and make beachgoers feel safe, which is important given the tourism industry has an estimated value of $33 billion a year.
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However, Friday's incident highlights that more often than not, it's not just sharks that are being snared in drumlines and nets, but also protected species like manta rays, endangered sea turtles, and dolphins.
Documentarian and Envoy Foundation director Andre Borell told Yahoo News the problem could potentially get worse, with the Crisafulli government announcing last week it would be expanding upon a decades-old shark control program with an $88 million investment, a plan it linked to "upholding Queensland's international tourism reputation".
'It's anti-science. Lethal methods don't make beaches any safer… They're proclaiming it as a great step forward, but in reality, they're investing in something that doesn't work,' he claimed to Yahoo News.
His concerns mirror those of the RSPCA, which responded to the Crisafulli Government announcement by joining the Nets Out Now coalition and warning nets create a 'false sense of security' among beachgoers. 'These devices are not physical barriers. Sharks can swim around or beneath them, and yet they continue to kill marine life indiscriminately, including protected species that pose no threat to humans,' its head of policy Rachel Woodrow said.
Both also raised concerns about the legality of the expansion of the program, which in its current state has an exemption from the Commonwealth's threatened species protection laws, the EPBC.
Queensland's government has claimed shark controls like drumlines and nets 'likely' lessen the chances of attacks. Its primary industries minister, Tony Perrett, said the planned expansion of the program was 'big and bold'.
'It puts swimmer safety first, and it's the largest overhaul of funds this program has seen in over 60 years," he said.
Responding to questions about Queensland's shark control program and bycatch of animals like manta rays, Perrett told Yahoo the government will "prioritise the safety of people above all else."
Referring to a report by international audit group KPMG, he said nets and drumlines are "still the most effective way of protecting swimmers".
'Until the new technology is scientifically proven as effective at protecting beach goers as traditional methods, we will continue to invest in what keeps Queenslanders and our beaches safe," he said in a statement.
The expansion of the shark control program will see nets installed at up to seven new locations, and they'll be checked every day, which the department of primary industries claims will improve swimmer safety and lessen bycatch.
With some of the money being directed to research, education and innovation, and the doubling of drone surveillance from 10 to 20 locations, the department said the plan "strikes a balance" between lethal and non-lethal methods.
Looking generally at shark control in Australia, there is evidence that attacks are less likely at netted beaches. However critics argue that's because the same stretches are patrolled by lifeguards.
Queensland's tourism industry is already under pressure, with a major drawcard, the Great Barrier Reef severely degraded due to mass bleaching and extreme weather linked to climate change. Borell believes the shark control program will damage other ecosystems that draw holidaymakers to the Sunshine State.
'Manta rays, dolphins, whales, turtles, everything you can picture on a tourism poster for Queensland, we're catching and killing it in the shark control program,' he said.
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While shark nets cover just 0.03 per cent of Queensland's coast, because they are placed in populated areas, their impact on protected wildlife is routinely observed.
So with whales now migrating towards Queensland's warmer waters from Antarctica, it's almost certain they'll soon be seen entangled in the nets. While NSW removes its shark nets during the winter migration, Queensland keeps them in place, and mothers and their inexperienced calves are regularly caught — an average of six per year.
And that's something that keeps Watson and his Noosa Wildlife rescue volunteers up at night.
'Everyone's got anxiety over them. It's horrible. I'd love to be waiting for the whales to be coming in, rather than thinking, please don't,' he said.
In Queensland, it is illegal for members of the public to remove drum lines or shark nets.
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