Following yesterday’s attack on a twenty-five-year-old surfer at Ballina’s Sharpes Beach, NSW Premier Mike Baird has relented to mounting pressure on the shark issue in Northern NSW and announced that he will be requesting a six-month-trial of shark nets in the area.
‘We will be writing and asking the Federal Government, which we’ve already been engaging on this issue with, to trial for six months nets across those far north coast beaches,’ the Premier stated.
To many locals in the area, the announcement is welcome but long overdue. Previously, the NSW Government has favoured the use of GPS-enabled drum lines and other forms of surveillance over traditional shark nets in the region, which has brought Premier Baird under considerable scrutiny. After the second attack in two weeks, however, the Premier has conceded that they have no other choice but to prioritise human life.
‘There are extraordinary circumstances that have happened there,’ he said. ‘We have to respond.’
Local Greens MP, Tamara Smith, has condemned the decision and suggested that the move is definitely not something that the overwhelming population is in favour of in the area.
‘I think the community is divided,’ she argued.
For local surfers, though, who by and large have been the most immediately affected by the surge in shark attacks around Ballina, there comes the welcome relief that something has finally been done.
‘It’s a step in the right direction, for sure,’ says long-time surfer Ryan Kenny, who also spoke to Tracks last week about the shark reporting app Dorsal. ‘As a surfing community, Ballina is in dire need of a solution. After today I am really rattled. My partner and I were going to surf that exact spot this morning. My friend got chased out earlier at the same spot surfing alone.’
For now, the beaches around Ballina remain closed. In a statement on when the nets will be rolled out, Premier Baird stated that, if they are approved, they will be implemented as soon as possible. Until then let’s hope no more attacks take place.
