Tourists oblivious to disturbing scene 500m off sunny Aussie beach
In waters off one of Australia's most popular beaches, something confronting was unfolding. Sunbathers, cafe patrons, and tourists in hotels that overlook the ocean would not have been able to see that 500 metres out, there was a dolphin in desperate need of help.
It likely would have died without anyone knowing if a drone operator hadn't noticed something shining on the water and become curious.
Their footage, supplied to Yahoo News, shows the dolphin trapped inside a two-metre-long net the state government had set and left to catch sharks off Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. The net is one of 27 laid along Queensland's coast as part of a program designed to reassure tourists the beaches are being protected.
Because the Shark Control Program (SCP) is controversial, the drone pilot who captured the vision has asked to remain anonymous, so we'll refer to them as 'Alex'.
'I was filming some surfers. Then I took the drone further out, and that's when I found the dolphin,' they said. 'At first, it made me feel anxious. As I got closer, I felt sick. My body felt really heavy.'
Alex is speaking out of concern that the system isn't equipped to free beloved Aussie species like dolphins when they're drowning in the nets. Currently, shark nets are only checked for wildlife every 48 hours, although the new state government plans to update the rules to make it daily.
When Alex called the SCP hotline to report their find on April 20, they were told it wasn't possible to send out contractors to investigate until the following day. It's likely the dolphin was already dead by that time.
Earlier on that autumn day, the weather had been a warm 27 degrees, and there was a light breeze ruffling the sand. But by the late afternoon, when the call about the dolphin came through, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says it had concerns about sending its contractors out as conditions had become unfavourable.
'Contractors were unable to respond immediately due to workplace health and safety concerns over fading light, weather conditions and large swells,' it told Yahoo News.
It said a boat was sent out at 'first light' the following day, but "unfortunately" they confirmed the animal was dead.
A separate clip provided by an anonymous source shows the dolphin dead in the water before the contractors arrived. A swimmer is understood to have taken the footage close to the animal, despite there being a 20-metre exclusion zone around shark nets under the Queensland Fisheries Act.
The 2025 dolphin entanglement is the first recorded at Caloundra since 2018, when a single animal was released alive. But analysis of the SCP shows dolphins are regularly killed by the program, with nine of the 12 caught in 2023 succumbing to nets or drumlines. That same year, two dugongs and five endangered turtles were also found dead in SCP devices.
In May, Yahoo reported on a massive manta ray becoming entangled in nets off Noosa beach.
Andre Borrell is the founder of Envoy Foundation and a critic of Queensland's use of shark nets. He argues the state government's need to operate under an exemption in its own Animal Care and Protection Act is a clear sign the SCP is 'cruel'.
'The whole core premise of this program is one of cruelty, and the only reason it can operate is because they've written themselves a loophole,' he said.
'Every death that happens is horrific, there's no good way that an animal dies in shark control equipment or at the hands of shark control contractors. We need to view everything about this program through that lens.'
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Critics of shark nets say they are not effective in preventing attacks because they are just 186 metres long and 6 metres deep, so sharks can simply swim around them. While it's acknowledged there are fewer incidents at beaches with nets, critics say the lower numbers are reflective of them being set in areas already patrolled by lifeguards who are able to actively warn swimmers about sharks.
NSW also has a shark netting program, and dolphins have been found dead in them on multiple occasions. But coastal councils around the state have indicated they no longer want them set off their beaches, and there will be pressure for the Minns Government to remove them when they are next reviewed.
In Queensland, the Crisafulli government appears to be taking the opposite approach. In May it announced it would be expanding the SCP, with an $88 million investment aimed at supporting the state's $33 billion tourism industry. This will include an investment in technology and innovation, but also a possible expansion of netting to six new beaches.
The minister for primary industries Tony Perrett said the program would be 'striking the right balance between ensuring swimmer safety and maintaining a healthy marine environment'.
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