#00070
Bottom-set gillnets off bathing beaches entangle and kill large sharks to thin local numbers. Long-established, but they are a culling device, not a barrier: sharks pass around them, bycatch of turtles, dolphins and rays is high, and bite-reduction evidence is weak.
Australia's oldest beach shark program, operating continuously since 1937. For the 2025–26 season, bottom-set gillnets were deployed at 51 beaches across 8 local government areas between Newcastle and Wollongong (1 Sept…