Councilor Keith Williams
Ballina Shire
Submission to Senate Environment and
Communications References Committee Inquiry into Shark mitigation and deterrent
measures
This
submission primarily focuses on Terms of Reference b) c) e) and g).
Background
I
have been a Ballina Shire Councilor since 2012. I hold a Bachelor of Science
(Environmental Studies) and have worked as a senior manager in the non-profit
and local government sectors and am currently a Green Army Supervisor. I am
also Vice President of Australian Seabird Rescue Inc and from 2008 to 2015 was
onsite Caretaker of the seabird and marine turtle rehabilitation centre based
in Ballina. This submission represents my own views and not those of any organisation.
Summary
Shark
nets are a particularly destructive form of shark mitigation that are not
effective in keeping people safe. Their deployment on the North Coast of NSW in
December 2016 makes a mockery of the protections for endangered species envisaged
in the EPBC Act.
The Legal Framework - TOR b)
The
exemption granted from the requirements of the EPBC Act that enabled the deployment of shark nets on the North
Coast is at this moment in time seriously endangering marine wildlife that is
supposedly subject to the protections of the Act.
The
legal basis for this decision must be questioned.
There
has been no widespread economic impact associated with sharks. The use of a
highly selected group of local businesses (eg surf shops) to allege that some broader
economic catastrophe confronted the region is seriously misleading and is in my
view an abuse of the emergency provisions of the Act.
The
region has in fact experienced its busiest holiday period in recent memory,
most likely influenced by the completion of the Pacific Highway upgrade between
Byron Bay and Ballina.
The
by-catch data released to date by NSW DPI indicates a serious impact on several
endangered and protected species. These include Loggerhead, Green and Hawksbill
sea turtles, Hammerhead and other sharks and Bottlenose Dolphins.
Prior
to the deployment of shark nets NSW DPI promised the local community that a
number of by-catch mitigation measures would be undertaken. This included:
·
the
nets would be fitted with smart alarm technology to alert operators that an
animal was trapped in the net;
·
the
nets would be checked twice daily;
·
the
nets would not be deployed if they were unable to be checked due to bad
weather.
None
of these commitments have been fulfilled. There is no functioning smart alarm
technology and none has been fitted to the installed nets. NSW DPI's own
records indicate the nets have barely been checked once a day. Nets have been
left in place for extended periods.
I
do not know what undertakings NSW DPI gave to the Commonwealth Department. Did
these promised mitigation measures feature in the Environment Ministers
approval? Are NSW DPI in breach of the terms of their approval? I believe these
are important questions to be answered.
The
deployment of a shark net at Lennox Head inside the Cape Byron Marine Park,
which has resulted in the death of protected species within the Marine Park,
must also be seriously questioned.
It
is imperative that at the conclusion of the trial period, the nets are removed
and any continuing deployment is subject to a thorough assessment in accordance
with the EPBC Act.
Mitigation Measures - TOR c)
The
deployment of shark nets does not make people safer. At best they offer a false
sense of security, with many people believing the nets provide an effective
barrier to sharks. At only 150m long and set 4m below the surface, the nets do
not operate as a barrier, but as a fishing device.
I
cannot envisage a Risk Assessment matrix which would accord any priority to a
control measure with such limited effectiveness and which creates additional
risk by suspending dead and dying wildlife near swimmers.
As
most surf clubs would attest, safety is best assured through constant
vigilance. The deployment of dedicated spotters and drone technology either
through groups such as SharkWatch (NSW) or by surf clubs themselves would
provide a much more effective level of protection to beach users.
I
was disappointed that the shark-barriers trialed at Ballina and Lennox Head
failed. I was alarmed that the barrier at Lennox Head broke up during
installation, scattering plastic fragments along the beach. In my view, NSW DPI
did not react swiftly enough to a marine pollution incident within a marine park.
I
believe there is an opportunity to trial the Eco-barrier that was to be been
installed at Lighthouse Beach at the much calmer beaches within the adjacent
Richmond River mouth. I am deeply disappointed that NSW DPI have so far refused
to fund a trial of the technology at these more appropriate locations.
The
management of sharks by the NSW Government has been an exercise in media
management and a failure of proper policy processes. Every incident followed by
yet another ministerial announcement. Beach alarms, rescue kits and observation
towers have all been promised but their deployment has been extremely slow and
cumbersome.
The
'attack' at Sharpes Beach, which became the day the NSW Premier announced the
North Coast shark nets trial, was an incident so minor, the person received a
single puncture wound, did not realise he had been bitten until leaving the
water and drove himself to hospital. I've received more severe injuries
stumbling into poorly discarded barbed-wire. I have no doubt the incident was
terrifying and it is not one I would care to share, but by any objective
measure it cannot be used to justify the wholesale slaughter of protected
species.
By-Catch - ToR e)
At
time of writing we have two months worth of by-catch data from the North Coast
shark net trial. If current trends continue the trial will have a major negative
impact on local protected species. These include Loggerhead, Green and
Hawksbill sea turtles, Hammerhead and other sharks, Manta and other rays and
Bottlenose Dolphins.
So
far 2 Bottlenose dolphins have been killed by the nets, one in each month. If
this continues for the remaining 4 months of the trial, it could be expected
that we will decimate (kill 10% of) the local pod of 60 dolphins that inhabit
the Richmond River. And this is just in the trial period.
In
January a female adult Loggerhead turtle died in the nets. She is one of an
estimated 15 (make that 14) female Loggerheads thought to be breeding on North
Coast beaches.
Populations
of endangered wildlife are, by definition, especially vulnerable to sudden
increases in mortality.
Tourism
Impacts ToR g)
The
claim that shark related incidents have a major economic impact on tourism is
unfounded. While there were clearly impacts on local wetsuit and surfboard manufacturers
and retail surf-shops, there is no data to suggest a shire or region wide
tourism downturn during the past two years.
Continued
sensationalist media coverage of sharks did raise concerns that there may be a measurable
impact on tourism, however the record summer experienced in Ballina suggests
any negative impacts are far outweighed by the provision of modern
infrastructure, Ballina-Byron Airport and the Pacific Highway upgrade being
major contributors.
A
local proposal for the building of an Ocean Pool at Shelley Beach could also
positively impact tourism opportunities.
As
a former Executive Officer of Ecotourism Australia, my view is also tempered by
the knowledge that a healthy environment and opportunities for wildlife
encounters are significant positive motivators in tourism purchasing decisions.
Watching dolphins play in the waves is a common local tourism image for good
reason.
The
continued loss of iconic species such as turtles, dolphins and whales is likely
to have a more significant negative impact on tourism than the presence of
sharks.
If
shark nets had any major impact on either beach safety or tourism then we could
expect some discernible difference between the experience of Ballina (trialling
nets, no spotters) and Byron (trialling spotters, no nets) since the beginning
of December 2016.
There
simply is none.
Except
for the mounting pile of dead marine wildlife in Ballina.
