North Coast shark nets trial ends early
THE North Coast Shark Net Trail is finishing two weeks earlier than planned to make way for whale season.
New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said the NSW Government would begin removing all five nets from the trial nets at Lighthouse Beach, Sharpes Beach, Shelly Beach, Seven Mile Beach, and Evans Head Beach, which had been in the water for almost six months.
"While we are ending the trial slightly earlier, we now have almost six months' worth of data for our shark scientists to analyse,” Mr Blair said.
"This week, DPI will also begin deploying an additional 10 SMART drum lines, bringing the total number of SMART drum lines to 35 on the North Coast.
"Over the past five months SMART drum lines have caught 29 target sharks, with all but one being tagged and released alive - that compares to only six target sharks caught in the nets.
"The research from this trial is world-class and will provide great insight to researchers, not only in NSW, but right across the world.”
Helicopters will continue to operate every weekend on the North Coast and daily flights and drones will re-commence during the July school holidays.
