Animals caught on baited drumlines and nets lure large sharks closer to swimmers and surfers

WARNING: This article contains images that some people may find distressing.

"The idea of using bait…to attract sharks to beaches that people swim at seems complete madness" that's the view of the City of Fremantle Mayor, Hannah Fitzhardinge, in Western Australia (WA).

On 8 February 2022, the Mayor discussed the City’s aim to ban shark fishing at beaches due to concerns over shark fishing where Paul Millachip was fatally attacked in November 2021.

There's community support for this ban, particularly after a report of a dead tiger shark found on the ocean bed at Busselton jetty in WA with fishing line attached on 11 February 2022, as well as other reports.

Baiting to catch sharks puts swimmers, divers, surfers and others at risk. This is not new information. Other Councils in WA and the government of South Australia already restrict shark fishing to protect beachgoers. In New Zealand (NZ), there is similar concern that “set netting”, a practice almost identical to shark nets but with a target species of fish, also attracts sharks.

New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD) have also reduced or stopped shark fishing at beaches. This is surprising, given that NSW and QLD shark control programs use baited drumlines and nets to lure sharks closer to beaches to catch and kill them.



Call for lethal shark control measures to be replaced with non-lethal shark measures. Image Credit: Action for Dolphins

For those of you who don’t know what a drumline is, it’s a giant baited hook, anchored to the seafloor near beaches, used to catch and kill sharks. Other animals get caught on them too, like dolphins and turtles. Government contractors periodically check drumlines and shark nets, but not often enough.

_ Dead animals on drumlines and shark nets become bait, as do animals struggling to get free. This attracts sharks and lures them close to beaches. Most drumlines and shark nets are set approximately 500 metres from shore.

Some sharks, like bull sharks, can detect a struggling animal from 1.6km away and blood from a distance of about 0.5km.

None of this happens by accident in QLD and NSW. Baited drumlines and shark nets are usually set close to each other and are designed to attract, catch and kill sharks. Sadly, non-target animals get caught on these killer devices as well, such as turtles, dolphins, seals and harmless shark species.

No one, not even QLD and NSW governments and Ministers, can dispute that a reliable food source attracts sharks. It's a dangerous situation.

For example, as far back as at least 1901, it was known and documented that sewerage runoff and abattoir waste were chief causes of Port Jackson in Sydney Harbour becoming infested with sharks. Food of any kind attracts sharks.

We ask the governments of NSW and QLD to immediately take action to replace shark nets and drumlines with modern non-lethal and non-capture solutions at beaches that fall under shark control programs.

There is no scientific proof that shark nets and drumlines keep beachgoers safe. But there is proof that shark bait brings sharks close to beaches, putting swimmers at risk. Be it the shark fishing happening at WA beaches, set netting placed by fishermen in NZ, or shark nets and drumlines placed by QLD and NSW government departments, we must stop attracting sharks closer to beaches and possibly even habituating them to feed there.

No matter who you are or where you live in the world, your opinion matters. Make it count. It’s the only way this “madness” will ever stop. Find out how.