Below: On December 12, 2016, Greenpeace Australia Pacific produced a brief response in opposition to the New South Wales government’s decision to deploy shark nets along the northern New South Wales coast.
Below: A video produced by the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries explaining the operation of shark nets.
Below: On September 26, 2016, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott expressed his support for shark nets in northern New South Wales coastal waters.
Below: On February 6, 2016, the Morning Show discussed a recent report revealing the limitations of shark nets as a protection. The segment included consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of shark nets.
Below: On November 12, 2016, the BBC produced a report on sharks in Australian waters and popular and government responses to shark attacks.
Below: On November 20, 2014, Channel Ten’s The Project conducted a vigorous discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of shark nets.
On December 9, 2016, The Conversation published a comment by Nathan Hart, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University and Charlie Huveneers, Senior lecturer, Flinders University.
The article is titled 'Not just nets: how to stop shark attacks without killing sharks'. It considers a number of alternatives to shark nets as means of reducing shark attacks.
The full text can be accessed at https://theconversation.com/not-just-nets-how-to-stop-shark-attacks-without-killing-sharks-69400
In December, 2016, the News South Wales Department of Primary Industries posted an entry on its Internet site titled 'North Coast shark net trial'.
In addition to announcing the trial, the entry supplies answers to twenty commonly asked questions about the nature of the trial.
The full entry can be accessed at http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/sharks/management/shark-net-trial
December 10, 2016, The Australian published the sixth episode of the series, titled 'The Solution' This is primarily an interview with the New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, about the factors which led his government to install shark nets in northern New South Wales.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/surfing-the-nets/news-story/8baf447e464c9c13c558676c15b6133d
On October 13, 2016, The Conversation published a comment by Leah Gibbs, Senior Lecturer in Geography, University of Wollongong titled 'More shark nets for NSW: why haven't we learned from WA's cull?'
The comment is critical of the recent decision to extent the use of shark nets.
The full text of this point of view can be accessed at https://theconversation.com/more-shark-nets-for-nsw-why-havent-we-learned-from-was-cull-66985
On August 28, 2016, ABC News ran a report titled 'Shark nets indiscriminately killing marine life already inside protected area, video suggests'
The report looks at calls to remove shark nets along the Queensland coast after a video report from the Australian Institute of marine Rescues suggests they are ineffective and harmful to marine life.
The full text can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-28/shark-nets-killing-marine-life-already-inside-protected-areas/7792336
On February 8, 2016, ABC News ran a report titled 'Shark nets "do nothing": 50 years of data "shows chances of attack unaffected by mitigation programs".
The report focuses on data analysis which suggests that shark nets do not reduce the likelihood of shark attacks. The report includes comments from experts who dispute this claim.
The full report can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-08/shark-nets-in-nsw-beaches-do-not-reduce-attacks:-research/7145560
On October 10, 2015, The Ethics Centre published an opinion piece by Clive Phillips, Chair of Animal Welfare and Director of the Centre for Animal Welfare Ethics at the University of Queensland.
The comment is titled 'Flaky arguments for shark culling lack bite' and attempts to counter the main arguments offered to justify shark culling.
The full text of the argument can be accessed at http://www.ethics.org.au/on-ethics/blog/october-2015/flaky-arguments-for-shark-culling-lack-bite
On October 2, 2015, The Guardian published a comment by shark author, James Woodford, titled 'There is deep unease about sharks in northern New South Wales. Here are some facts to keep in mind'
Woodford argues that there is much misinformation about supposed increases in shark numbers.
The full text of this piece can be accessed at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/02/could-big-game-fishing-solve-the-problem-of-shark-attacks
On September 29, 2015, ABC News ran a report titled 'Shark experts consider deterrence devices to trial in NSW'
The report looks at measures being considered to offer protection to beachgoers in northern New South Wales.
The full text can be accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4321558.htm
On April 14, 2014, The Guardian published a comment by Christopher Neff. Dr Neff, a Lecturer in Public Policy in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. Dr Neff disputes claims that nets have succeeded in keeping Sydney beaches safe and that politicians are pressured by the electorate to install nets.
The full text of the article can be accessed at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/14/the-politics-of-shark-attacks-time-for-some-myth-busting
The radical conservation group, Sea Shepherd, has a section of its Internet site given over to promoting shark conservation.
The group outlines the extent of the threat human activities pose to sharks and the importance of sharks' continued survival to marine ecosystems and the ecological wellbeing of the planet as a whole.
The full text can be accessed at https://www.seashepherd.org.au/apex-harmony/overview/shark-importance.html
Sea Life Trust has published a report by Alice Forrest, an aquarist with Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. The report is titled 'Shark nets in Australia - what are they and how do they work?'
It describes how shark nets work and is critical of their operation.
The report can be accessed at http://www.sealifetrust.org.au/news/latest/shark-nets-australia-work
