On a breezy Sunday morning, the shoreline at Maroubra is alive with colour. Dozens of red and yellow caps bob between the waves, as Nippers paddle out under the watchful eyes of surf lifesavers. But beneath the excitement, there’s a growing unease. Soon, the shark nets that have lined Maroubra’s waters for decades will be gone. Not just here, but across 51 beaches in New South Wales, the state is pulling them out early—by a full month.
The nets usually stay in place until the end of April, but this year, they will be removed on 31 March, a move aimed at protecting sea turtles migrating along the coast. For some, it’s a necessary shift toward more environmentally responsible management. For others, like Paul Fownes, it’s a risk they’re not ready to take.
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Mr Fownes is the president of the South Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club, and on any given Sunday, he’s responsible for more than 1,000 children in the surf. For him, the nets have always been one part of the safety net—literal or not—that helps keep those kids safe.
“I remember a day when a four-and-a-half metre white shark got caught in the net,” he said. “That same morning, we had our Nippers in the water.”
To him, removing the nets without solid, consistent alternatives—like drone patrols or drumlines—feels like trading a proven system for an uncertain one. “There are days when we have no drones. Sometimes it’s cloudy, sometimes there’s no one available to fly them,” he explained.
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A Different Perspective
But conservation groups see it differently.
Lawrence Chlebeck, a marine biologist with Humane World for Animals, believes the real danger isn’t removing the nets—it’s thinking they ever provided solid protection in the first place.
“Shark nets don’t form a wall,” he said. “They’re only 150 metres long and six metres high. Sharks can, and often do, swim over, under or around them.”
The data backs him up. In the 2022–23 season, not a single target shark—meaning great whites, tiger sharks or bull sharks—was caught in the nets off Sydney beaches. The following season, only three were. Instead, nets caught 124 other marine animals, including dolphins, rays, turtles and smaller sharks that pose little threat to humans.
Chlebeck says that almost half of the sharks caught in nets are found on the beach side—meaning they’ve already gotten past the barrier. To him, this proves that the nets don’t work the way many believe they do.
“People think nets make the water safe,” he said. “But the safety is more psychological than real.”
He argues that newer technologies—like shark listening stations, drones and SMART drumlines—are far more effective at detecting sharks before they become a threat. “It’s time we let go of 100-year-old tech and put our trust in tools that actually work.”
A Decision That Ripples
Back in Maroubra, the debate is about more than just sharks. It’s about how a community balances safety, tradition, and science.
Six of the eight NSW councils that use shark nets have now voted in favour of permanently removing them, citing damage to marine life and limited effectiveness. In Randwick, where Maroubra is located, the decision was a close call, a split 8–7.
Even so, the final decision rests with the state. The Department of Primary Industries has been gathering feedback from 25 coastal councils, with a full review due to go before Cabinet later this year. Any long-term changes to the Shark Management Program could come into effect in the 2025–26 season.
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government is relying on tracking data from more than 2,200 tagged sharks to shape its future approach. “We’re continuing to consult with local councils and communities,” she said.
For now, though, Maroubra’s nets will be gone by the end of the month. The beach will look the same. The Nippers will still run into the surf. But for many in the community, it will feel just a little different.
Published 24-March-2025
