One very lucky surfer today at Broken Head, NSW, Australia. Picture: Geoffrey John Kn
The NSW government will rush legislation through parliament to speed up the deployment of shark nets following the spate of attacks on the NSW North Coast.
The move comes as a man is recovers after being bitten while surfing at Broken Head, just south of Byron Bay earlier today. The attack is the 12th on the 70km stretch of the north coast between around Byron Bay and Evans Head since January this year.
The NSW Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair will introduce the legislation when parliament resumes next month to streamline the approval process, which also requires federal government approval.
He said that at the moment the approval process was spreading across different acts.
We know that the North Coast community is suffering after an extraordinary run of shark attacks – that is why we have today announced that we will introduce legislation to the NSW Parliament, to get the nets in the water as soon as possible.
“No one measure can stop shark attacks, but this trial of traditional nets will complement our existing $16 million Shark Management Strategy, and help reduce the risk of further attacks
“Marine life is important, which is why DPI’s world-leading fisheries experts are investigating how mesh nets might be improved to avoid unnecessary entanglements, but protecting human life is our first priority.”
The government has already sounded contractors to maintain the nets and started the process of buying the required meshing.
Meanwhile, veteran surfers in northern NSW are “really shaken up” after another shark attack in their region this morning.
A surfer sitting with a group of about 15 others 200m from shore at Broken Head, south of Byron Bay, was bitten on the thigh.
He suffered puncture wounds and was able to get to shore and take himself to hospital.
The shark wrapped its mouth around his leg and the tail of his surfboard. As has been the case with several other recent attacks, it appears the fin of the man’s surfboard has discouraged the shark from biting harder. Instead, it let the man go and swam away.
“When he got hit, he started screaming to the others, ‘Shark!’,” said Byron Bay Boardriders president Neil Cameron, who had come in from a surf and was in the car park when the attack occurred.
He said the group of surfers who came in with the attack victim were “really shaken up”. He added that all the surfers in the region were tired of waiting for the government to act.
All beaches around Byron Bay will be closed for at least 24 hours.
NSW Surf Life Saving made the decision this morning after a 36-year-old man was attacked.
“It’s believed that the shark emerged from under the man while he was waiting for a wave,” SLS NSW said in a statement. “The man’s surfboard took the brunt of the impact with the man suffering minor lacerations to his leg in the incident.”
After returning to shore, the man was driven to nearby Byron Central Hospital by a friend. He is in a non-life-threatening condition and will be discharged from hospital later today.
Belinda Holland, a witness, said she saw his board go “flying” in the attack.
“I’m pretty sure his board went flying into the air and he got … a chunk out of his leg and side. There was a lot of blood,” she told the Today show.
Robert Fenech, who was surfing at Broken Head this morning as well, said he was about 100m from where the man was attacked about 7.30am.
Broken Head, just south of Byron Bay, where the shark attack occurred.
“There hadn’t been any waves for two weeks,” he said. “The internet says there’s surf, so we all went out there. It was packed. I go out there all the time.
“Everyone’s pretty vulnerable. It’s pretty close to home. There are so many girls and young guys,” he said. “We knew there were sharks there, but it’s the first time someone’s been snapped for a while.”
Mr Cameron told The Australian this morning that the local authorities now had two options. “One, they install nets and drumlines, like we’ve been saying they should; or, two, the council puts up signs saying ‘Do not enter the water’. That’s what it’s come down to. This is about protecting people who want to use the water at a major tourist destination.”
He said today’s attack was the “final nail in the coffin”.
He said that in the past, whenever there was an attack in the region, everybody knew there would not be another one for six or seven years. “But now, the next one could be this afternoon.”
He attributed the problem to local green politicians. “There is an extremely big and strong green factor in Byron Bay. There’s been a strong push by the average punter and the media to stop nets being put in.
“They have so-called experts, but they keep coming up with irrelevant facts. These experts don’t know as much as surfers and fishermen.
“It’s now up to (NSW Premier) Mike Baird to expedite the issue.”
A spokeswoman for the northern NSW local health district confirmed a man suffered lacerations on his left leg and had transported himself to a hospital in Byron Bay.
“We have a male patient in EB at Byron Central Hospital who transferred himself by private vehicle to EB following an altercation with a shark,” she said.
“He has minor lacerations … and will be discharged shortly.”
The incident comes as a new study reveals that shark attacks on people are surging worldwide — and humans are largely to blame.
Scientists found that most (84 per cent) of attacks occurred in six areas — the United States, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, the Bahamas and the [Indian Ocean] island of Reunion.
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