Queensland plan to increase lethal shark control measures goes against advice of government-commissioned report

Australia Broadcast Center

07-06-2025

Queensland's shark control program (SCP) has been killing an increasing number of non-target species and is failing to meet its ecological goals and community expectations, according to a report commissioned by the state government.
The KPMG Shark Control Program Evaluation Report stressed that while 'traditional measures' are still required, the program needed to transition away from 'environmentally harmful practices' such as drumlines and mesh nets, and suggested a trial removing nets during whale migration season.
Yet the Queensland Government has announced the 2025-2029 SCP would include the expanded use of lethal-control measures and has ruled out removing nets during winter to 'support Queensland's beach culture'.
The decision has angered many within the scientific community, which has long questioned the evidence underpinning the use of lethal measures.
But the Queensland Government said the evidence was clear the SCP was working, and human safety came before all else.
Mesh nets and drumlines are the main measures used to control sharks in Queensland
There are 27 nets used in the state, most of which are near popular beaches on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Rainbow Bay.
The nets are up to 186 metres long and six metres deep, anchored to the sea floor.
The criticism of nets is that they catch indiscriminately, and can ensnare endangered animals, including turtles, dugongs and whales.
The KPMG report noted that nets caught 843 animals between 2021-2024. Some 695 of which were not one of the seven species of shark targeted by the SCP, meaning that 82 per cent of what is caught is considered 'bycatch'.
Of those seven such 'target species', the White, Tiger and Bull shark are considered most dangerous.
There are 383 drumlines placed parallel to popular beaches in Queensland, which are large, baited hooks attached to buoys and also anchored to the ocean floor.
The drumlines are better at targeting sharks, given other species are either too small to grab the hook, or aren't attracted by the chunks of mullet or shark used as bait.
These hooks snared 2,753 animals between 2021-2024, 1,223 of which was bycatch.
Most of what is hooked on drumlines dies, either while snared on the hook, or by contractors paid to euthanise target sharks.
The average annual bycatch killed by Queensland's SCP has increased in recent years, from 305 animals per year between 2001-2021 to 363 per year between 2021-2024, according to KMPG.
The report's author acknowledges this level of mortality is no longer acceptable to many Queenslanders, and 'there is a need to reduce the impact on ecosystems … to respond to community expectations'.
However, the Queensland Government has made it clear that reducing shark bites is what matters.
'While the program will seek to minimise negative impacts on marine ecosystems, this is not a purpose of the program,' its 2025-2029 SCP reads.
The evidence for lethal control measures in the report noted that before 1962 — when shark control in the state began — there was an average of three bites and one death per year in Queensland.
Between 1962 and 2024, there was an average of 2.3 shark 'incidents' and 0.35 deaths per year, despite a significant increase in human population.
The KPMG report said this was due to the removal of sharks which had the potential to attack swimmers.
Between 2001 and 2021, nearly 7,000 target sharks were caught in Queensland, which is an average of 350 per year.
Between 2021 and 2024, 1,678 target sharks were caught at an average of 438 per year.
At the same time, shark incidents per year have gone from 3.35 between 2001-2021 to 1.04 between 2021-2024, according to KPMG.
While the report noted this was correlative evidence and did not necessarily prove lethal measures have caused a reduction in attacks, the Queensland Government has used it to justify the expansion of the use of nets and drumlines at seven new locations on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and in the Wide Bay region.
It will also introduce daily servicing of drum lines to ensure they are baited and 'operating effectively'.
'It is anticipated that the increase in servicing will correspond to an increase in shark catch,' the 2025-2029 SCP stated.
Australian Marine Conservation Society shark scientist, Dr Leonardo Guida, said there was a genuine need for protective measures on Queensland beaches, in part because of climate change.
'You're getting these subtropical species like tiger sharks and bull sharks progressively moving further and further south,' he said.
'As they identify certain habitats that they feel comfortable in, they may in fact overlap with beaches that are popular with people.'
But he said lethal shark control lacked scientific evidence and was ethically outdated.
'It's utterly baffling. It's 2025, not 1925.'
He pointed to a 2019 decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which found Queensland's lethal shark program in the Great Barrier Reef Marine National Park was 'out of step with national and international developments' and did not reduce the risk of unprovoked attacks.
'They interviewed scientists from across the country, reviewed the literature and their conclusion was that with respect to the lethal component of the shark control program … the evidence to support the case that it doesn't improve people's safety was overwhelming,' he said.
'Not only does it not improve public safety, but it comes at a real, significant and disproportionate risk to critically endangered animals like grey nurse sharks, turtles, dolphins and dugongs.'
As a result, the state government is required to release sharks caught on drumlines within the federally administered marine national park.
The government's new SCP includes the use of new, non-lethal measures which have the support of people like Dr Guida.
A SharkSmart drone program will be established at 20 beaches following a successful trial of the technology, which allows surf lifesavers to identify potentially dangerous sharks from the air.
It will also invest in shark population assessments and trial whale deterrents to prevent them becoming entangled in nets.
The Queensland Government has said it would only use catch-alert drumlines — which send out a ping when something is snared so it can be released quickly — as well as tag and track sharks in the Great Barrier Reef National Park, where it is legally required to do so.
This is because the KPMG report questioned the effectiveness of catch-alert drumlines. This is due to the fact they are placed out every morning and taken in at night, thereby catching fewer sharks and not offering round-the-clock protection.
'It's as though the Queensland Government has literally put a stop sign up and said we are not progressing further with evidence-based measures,' Dr Guida said.
'We'll keep what's currently available and we'll expand culling instead.'
Dr Guida said political realities got in the way of meaningful change.
'I think there is this deep-seated fear that if they were to change something and something untoward were to happen... another politician is going to use that against them to bring down their career,' he said.
Dr Daryl McPhee from Bond University has been studying the 40-year trend of increasing shark bites globally.
'That's unsurprising because we have more people in the water in more places doing a great diversity of things,' he said.
'We also expect to see more bull sharks around river mouths after prolonged rain and flooding rains, which we've seen a lot over the last couple of years.'
He said healthier whale populations might also be responsible for attracting sharks to the east coast.
Dr McPhee said a reduction in fishing has likely helped some smaller shark species recover in recent decades. But it was difficult to say whether anecdotal reports of a greater abundance of white, tiger and bull sharks were correct.
'They're highly mobile and rare animals, so that makes stock assessment quite difficult,' he said.
Like others, Dr McPhee said he was 'extremely surprised' the Queensland government was expanding lethal shark control measures.
To mitigate the 'very low' risk posed by sharks, Dr McPhee said all governments would be better off spending tens of millions on researching shark movements and educating humans.
'A very significant component in the government's new plan does have rejigged and re-emphasised education as a part of it, which is a good thing,' he said.
'Individuals need to take some personal responsibility as well.