Calls for shark net ban after five whales caught in a single week

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There have been renewed calls for a ban on shark nets in Queensland after five whales became entangled in the past week.

The latest was on Friday morning, when a juvenile humpback became caught off Marcoola Beach on the Sunshine Coast.

A Department of Primary Industries spokesperson said the entanglement was reported just before 8am, with the whale successfully released two hours later.

The humpback mother and calf caught in a shark net off Noosa on Thursday

“Our teams were alerted to this incident by reports to the Shark Control Program hotline and we had crews on the scene very quickly,” they said.

“We thank everyone who contacted the hotline, enabling us to provide prompt assistance.”

The net was being replaced, the spokesperson said.

It was the fifth whale entanglement off the Queensland coast this week – a mother and its calf were caught in nets off Noosa Beach on Thursday, while earlier in the week there were reports of another mother and calf entangled off Rainbow Beach.

In that incident, the mother dragged the shark net about 100 kilometres north to Hervey Bay.

Humane World for Animals Australia marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said the event was a reminder of the annual toll that shark nets take on the highly intelligent and social animals.

“The tragic irony of this gentle giant and with a calf is floundering as it’s entangled in a shark net in Hervey Bay – the world’s first Whale Heritage Site – is simply unacceptable,” he said.

“Even if the whale can be freed from this net, the trauma they will have suffered and energy expended in the struggle, will seriously jeopardise their ability to make the long migration back to their feeding grounds in the Southern Ocean.

“How can the Queensland government continue to justify their year-round deployment of these lethal, outdated and ineffective shark nets to the state’s waters?”

Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett defended the practice.

“The Crisafulli government will always put the safety of people first which is why it has delivered the largest investment into shark management in the program’s history,” he said.

“Traditional methods, such as nets and drumlines, are scientifically proven to be the most effective tool in protecting swimmers.”

Perrett said the government also funded a marine animal rescue team, consisting of 25 highly trained specialists who provide rapid response to any entanglement.

There are of 27 shark nets on south-east Queensland beaches and 383 drum lines in use on beaches from the New South Wales border north to Cairns.