Shark nets to come down at 51 beaches across NSW

The NSW government will remove shark nets at 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong next week.

The nets go up in the warmer months each year from September 1 to create a barrier between swimmers and white, tiger and bull sharks.

Typically, the nets come down on April 30 but increased turtle activity has led to the government trialling an earlier removal on March 31.

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The government has also increased the frequency of net inspections to every day and trialled lights to deter turtles and prevent their entanglement in the 2024-25 season.

Earlier in March, a woman was injured and became unconscious in the water after a shark attack at Gunyah Beach, near Bundeena in Sydney's south.

She was rescued by bystanders and rushed to hospital. 

The Australian Shark Incident Database recorded four shark attacks last year, one each in NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

There were 17 shark attacks across the country in 2023, three of which were fatal and four which were in NSW.

SharkSmart advises swimmers to stay between the red and yellow flags, stay close to shore, avoid swimming at dawn, dusk and night, and stay out of the water with bleeding cuts and wounds. 

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The 51 beaches under the state's shark management plan stretch across eight councils.

Of those eight, Waverley, Central Coast, Northern Beaches, Sutherland Shire, Wollongong City Council and Randwick councils have each passed motions in support of removing the nets due to concerns about the unintended effects on other marine life.

In the 2023-24 season, 134 marine animals were found dead in shark nets, according to data obtained by the Humane Society International from the NSW Department of Primary Industries in April.

Those animals also included five critically endangered grey nurse sharks, four endangered leatherback turtles and one endangered loggerhead turtle.

The data also found 93 per cent of marine life captured in the nets were non-target animals and only 36 per cent were released alive.

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