On Friday, September 1, shark net installation began as usual at 51 NSW beaches, including at Coledale, Austinmer, Thirroul, North Wollongong and Wollongong. Controversy over the NSW government’s shark meshing program has largely focused on the massive loss of marine life. But, from a bather protection point of view, beach safety experts believe it’s missing the point.
University of NSW Professor and the Flame’s Science of the Surf columnist Rob Brander (aka Dr Rip) believes the focus on rare instances of shark attacks would be far better turned to recent spikes in drownings.
“If you talk to lifeguards, and in my own personal opinion, you've just got to look at statistics to realise that overall it's not a big problem compared to other hazards,” Rob said.
“You have to respect the fact that any shark fatality is tragic – it's awful – but in New South Wales, at least over the last 10 years, the average is less than one fatality per year, whereas you look at the number of drownings that occur, you're probably talking about 50 a year.
“Last summer alone was terrible; we had 54 drownings and rip currents are the biggest cause. Across Australia, the long-term average is about 26 confirmed rip fatalities a year.
“If you look at rip currents as the main hazard compared to sharks… it just doesn't compare. It's just not commensurate.”
Rob says the millions of taxpayer dollars dedicated to the shark meshing program would go a long way in funding practical drowning prevention strategies.
“In terms of beach safety, I think it'd be better spent to invest in more lifeguard services on beaches that are not patrolled, but are very popular, and there's a lot of those beaches,” he said.
“We're doing a lot of research mapping out drowning incidents across New South Wales… looking at the times they occur and the times that beaches are particularly busy. The best thing to keep people safe is to have more lifeguards and to extend lifeguard hours, and that's a money issue for local councils.
“But given the millions that have been devoted to the shark issue, you could easily have a lot more lifeguards on duty for at least the busy summer period.”
With significantly more people dying or rescued from drowning than killed or attacked by sharks each year, Rob believes it’s vital that beach safety education is prioritised and that it extends beyond the 'swim between the red and yellow flags' message.
“There's a lot of talk about having some more beach safety messages… because we've done research on unpatrolled beaches, and there's reasons why people pick unpatrolled beaches; they like quiet locations, it's often close to their tourist accommodation. That's not going to change,” Rob said.
“Surf Life Saving Australia launched a ‘Think Line’ message a few years ago, which is quite simple. It's kind of like the concept that you don't cross a road without looking both ways, and you should never go to a beach without taking a few minutes thinking about beach safety. Are there lifeguards? Are there rips? What would you do if something happened?
“Another new beach safety message [is] Float to Survive, and that's the idea that if you get in trouble in water, in the ocean, or any waterway really, your first instinct should be to float, to conserve your energy and signal for help.
“I think extending the messaging is good because if you've got the 'swimming in the flags' message, which is our foundation, and then you move towards this preventative message that when you go to any beach, you should think about beach safety… and if you have those three messages ingrained, that's a really good start.”
While Rob describes his attitude to shark netting as ambivalent, his call to increase access to beach safety education is clear.
“Every human fatality that occurs at the beach is potentially avoidable because it usually comes down to making poor decisions about when and where to swim,” he said.
“Shark nets are not perfect. Sharks can swim over them, under them, around them – I think people have this misconception that shark nets just close off the whole beach, which they don't.
“I don’t want to get bitten by a shark, but I don’t decide where to swim based on if the beach is netted or not. I’m not sure how many people do, to be honest. Surfers definitely don’t.
“[We need] more investment in beach safety education and that education could include educating people about rip currents – how to spot them, how to be aware of them – but it can also involve education about sharks – when not to swim, where not to swim based on the likelihood of a shark bite.”
Beach season ahead
On Saturday, 23 September, flags will go up at Wollongong's 17 patrolled beaches. Council Lifeguards will be on duty from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays and public holidays, beaches will be supervised by Surf Life Saving Illawarra volunteers, with the help of Council Lifeguards. Only North Wollongong Beach is patrolled year-around.
