Most of the 24 million annual visitors to Queensland don’t notice the series of seemingly innocuous yellow buoys at many popular beaches. Beneath the waves lies a series of baited drumlines and mesh nets that aim to make Queensland beaches safe from the ominous threat of sharks. However, there’s no hard evidence that shark nets or culls make Australian beaches safer.
Earlier this week the Queensland government lost a legal challenge in the Federal Court to continue its shark culling program in protected areas of the Great Barrier Reef, and Fisheries Minister Mark Furner has written to the federal government to request legal changes to keep the program operating.
Since the Queensland Shark Control Program began in 1962, more than 50,000 sharks have been removed from Queensland beaches at a cost of some A$3 million per year.
[referenced url=”https://staging.lifehacker.com.au/2016/09/how-to-survive-a-shark-attack/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/ko5hrruuksdvdlpur22k.png” title=”How To Survive A Shark Attack” excerpt=”Sharks don’t really like the taste of people, but their poor vision and the splashing of beachgoers can lead to sharks confusing you for a tasty snack. Here’s what you should do if you see a fin and the Jaws theme starts playing.”]
While proponents of the program argue the absence of human deaths at beaches with shark control gear is proof of the program’s success, leading shark experts are not so sure.
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