Operation Apex Harmony - Sea Shepherd Global

Operation Apex Harmony - Sea Shepherd Global

Sea Shepherd Australia strongly believes that shark nets only provide a false sense of security to ocean users. Shark nets do not provide complete protection for beaches, any marine animal can swim under, over or around the nets.
They are indiscriminate and kill many harmless marine creatures, such as rays, dolphins, turtles, and whales. 

Leaving any live animal to die in shark nets also creates an increased risk of human-shark interaction as passing marine predators such as sharks will seek the animal as a free meal. Sea Shepherd Australia's, Operation Apex Harmony, has long been advocating an end to ...

Sea Shepherd Australia strongly believes that shark nets only provide a false sense of security to ocean users. Shark nets do not provide complete protection for beaches, any marine animal can swim under, over or around the nets.
They are indiscriminate and kill many harmless marine creatures, such as rays, dolphins, turtles, and whales. 

Leaving any live animal to die in shark nets also creates an increased risk of human-shark interaction as passing marine predators such as sharks will seek the animal as a free meal. Sea Shepherd Australia's, Operation Apex Harmony, has long been advocating an end to these lethal shark nets on the east coast of Australia. 

Please write to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Hon. Niall Blair MP, NSW Primary Industries Minister and Ballina Shire Council, who should remove the state's second net trial and implement other non-lethal alternative methods at protecting NSW's beach users. 

Key Talking Points in the email which you are welcome to expand upon include:

1) There is scientific consensus that shark culling methods like shark nets do not keep people safe, merely providing the public with a false sense of security.

2) The independent scientific "Review Into Bather Technologies" conducted by Cardno and Ass. Prof Daryl McPhee, a NSW parliamentary inquiry and a federal senate inquiry have all recommended phasing out the shark nets and replacing with other non-lethal methods.

3) There are alternatives available now which protect people and marine life at the same time such as drones, observation towers, shark spotting programs etc. which should be used instead.

4) There have been several instances since January 6th, where a shark has been sighted on the beach side of the net in proximity to ocean users and lifesavers, the latest incident occurring on 23rd January. It is wrong for the NSW Government and Ballina Shire Council to claim that the nets protect ocean users when clearly they don't. Local community confidence in the net trial dropped to 33% after the first trial.

5) NSW DPI's refusal to release reported live animals caught in the nets such as rays and turtles and to leave them to die creates an increased risk to ocean user/lifesaver safety as the dying/dead animals provide an easy feed for passing sharks which can swim under, over or around the nets.

6) By-catch of shark net trial is around 97%, most of the animals caught are not target sharks.

7) Shark nets are detrimental to local diving and tourism operations. Many marine animals which frequent Northern NSW waters such as rays, turtles and dolphins are being needlessly entangled and killed by this net trial. 

8) Sharks are important to our marine ecosystem to ensure large marine mammal and fish populations are kept in check and healthy, by removing the sick and dying individuals. Several studies across the world have shown ecosystem collapse when sharks are removed.

9) Shark mitigation is now a bipartisan approach in Western Australia with the Labor McGowan Government working together with the Liberal opposition to provide non-lethal solutions for ocean users while protecting marine life.

To find out more, please visit: www.seashepherd.org.au/apex-harmony

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/apexharmony/

Instagram: @apexharmony

Twitter: @ApexHarmony

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End the Second Trial of Shark Nets in Northern New South Wales!

Please write to Hon. Gladys Berejiklian MP, Premier of New South Wales, Hon. Niall Blair MP, NSW Primary Industries Minister and Ballina Shire Council, and tell them remove the state's second net trial and replace it with non-lethal alternatives to protect ocean users and marine life.

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS WHEN FILLING OUT YOUR INFORMATION:

For NSW people: Please fill out the "find your local rep" box (if you wish to let your state MP know) as well as everything else.

For people in other parts of Australia and World: Do not fill out the "find your local rep box", just everything else.

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