#human-wildlife-conflict

Gill nets cause unnecessary harm to sharks and other wildlife while failing to reduce local shark presence, since sharks are highly migratory and have no fixed territory. Healthy shark populations are essential for balanced ecosystems.

Shark-bite fatalities rose in 2025–26, clustered at crowded surf beaches and flood-affected estuaries. The driver is growing overlap between people and sharks in space and time — coastal crowding, recovering shark populations, and climate-shifted prey — not increased aggression.

Cut overlap by changing when and where people swim: avoid dawn, dusk and night; stay out after heavy rain and away from river mouths and murky water; keep clear of baitfish, seals and fishing; swim at patrolled beaches. Cheap and universal, but only as good as compliance.

The NSW SharkSmart campaign operationalizes behavioural risk reduction at state scale through signage, a mobile education van programme, school-holiday pop-up events, and condition-based alerts and warnings during eleva…