DEPUTATION - Shark Mitigation in Noosa Shire Applicant: Oceans for all - Carolyn Lansdown, Chairperson Speakers: Taylor Ladd Hudson, Albie Curtis, Jarrah Small

Thank you for having us today. I am Taylor ladd Hudson, a 15-year-old local from Sunrise Beach. Our request today is not for the permanent removal of the sharpness in the river bay, but instead we are proposing a seasonal removal during half-life migration season. Ocean all is a for working party representing environmental groups that work within the Noosa Shire. Each group has a shared goal of caring for our environment and the wildlife that inhabits our beautiful Noosa placid. Working together as a team, we have collaborated on the issue of the Shark Control Program in the green bay. Our team has the support of Sandy Bolton, MG, and have collaborated with her to survey local residents regarding their opinion on the use of shop nets, specifically the there's Noosa a shot. While representing a variety of groups, our team have consulted with the department of agricultural and the scientific expert in the field to ensure our data is correct and sits in on our meetings, offering advice and reminding us of the Noosa Shire guidelines and procedures. Sandy bolton's survey, which was released earlier this year, questioned the local Noosa residents if they supported the current use of shop hints at Noosa MyBage. 75.06 percent% said they don't. Bond university associate professor McVeigh said under oath during a Queensland administrative appeals tribunal that he would never recommend a lethal program and could never imagine for a legal shock program anyway. He agreed it was highly plausible that if the shock control program became non-lethal tomorrow, we would see no discernible change in impoverished shock bites, in particular fatalities. If we tomorrow decided to remove the nets and replace them with a non-lethal alternative, there have been only 70 bites and 30 fatalities at protected beaches in New South Wales and Queensland.

At Greenmount Beach on the Gold Coast in 2020 a surfer had a fatal incident with a shark. The beach was fitted with a shark net drumlines. It has been scientifically proven that sharks have a 96% chance of getting past the nets and over 40% of the sharks caught in the nets are caught on the beach side meaning they've already been in close contact to beachgoers and are peacefully making their way back out into deeper waters. In Laguna Bay since 2001 576 have been caught and killed. This includes turtles, rays, dolphins, whales and any known species to inhabit or migrate through a beautiful area. Once an animal is caught it attracts larger sharks to the net for a free feed. Over the same period only 129 targeted shark species over two metres were caught. And find finally since 2013 at least seven known humpback whales have been entangled at Noosa Main Beach. I have personally witnessed and recorded three whale entanglement in the past three years at Noosa Main Beach. Four weeks ago a critically endangered grey nurse shark was caught in one of the nets in Laguna Bay. This individual was identified by the unique markings along the side of her body. Her name was Mary and this is the first sighting of her since April 2015. Nine years later, almost to the day she popped up dead while pregnant in one of our nets. This program is nearly a hundred years old. I've been in the shark conservation space since I was 12. I'm nearly 16. I'm a swimmer, surfer and volunteer lifesaver for Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club. It's time for change and it's time we see the Shark Control Program removed and replaced with current modern technology. We are not asking for a complete removal of the nets but asking for a seasonal removal during humpback migration season like New South Wales. One small step in the right direction. It's time we change and improve our ways to allow ocean goers and marine life to coexist in our biosphere. Thank you.

Good morning everyone. I'm captain albie from the Wilder songs Noosa boat and we take visitors out to see the dolphins and whales. And we take care of our ocean environment by being a research vessel as well. Now I've been boating, surfing since 1970 in this area. I've been here for a long time. And when I go out, all the visitors and local, interstate and international that get on our boat are quite shocked that we still have nets here at Noosa, especially in noosa's promoted as a biosphere town. Scientists that we actually do our research for take the information to these scientists that are in the universities as all that my neck who is a while expert at Griffith my neck who is a while expert at Griffith university we also do the dolphins to university dolphins to Alexis lavin good and she's in the SCU Alexis lavin good and she's in the SCU and Bonnie Holmes the scientists for SCU studying the bull sharks recent research shows bull sharks in the river mainly juvenile and get grow up to and go up to the river system during the winter months and winter months is when whales are here so we don't have the sharks out there she says the nets are misplaced and not stopping bull sharks at all nets are not needed in winter months especially um as it's very much supporting and she's very the removal of the nets during whale migration scientists they say there is no science or logic in the nets whatsoever so my question it's certainly not the experts so let's take advice and direction open beaches. The positioning of the nets keep changing and moving. We used to get the coordinates as boat operators by Coast guard, but this hasn't happened, doesn't happen anymore. It's dangerous for boats. As well as everything else in the as the nets keep moving and no communication is given. So nobody's really sure where the nets are. The current position of the nets does not correlate. With the currents coming out of the river as it is now. Back in the seventies the position of the nets was closer to these currents as the river mouth was vastly different. It from where it is now. The river mouth has changed by 500 metres and the nets are still in the same position as they were in the 70s. The whole shark net deters that news. At Noosa are very outdated, misplaced, and need urgent attention. Queensland is behind every other state. We would like to see Noosa, the biosphere town, way in smart shark deterrence and make the ocean safer for all. So we would like to see our Council maybe support us as well and support the dolphins and whales that we all love and go out to see. Thank you.

My name is jarrah small. I'm a 15-year-old conservationist, wildlife rescuer and environmental educator. I'm the recipient of several conservation awards within the Noosa Biosphere and beyond and I volunteer with Oceans For All. On the 6th of October 2023 I was one of the many people who stood on Noosa Main Beach and witnessed a humpback whale calf struggling and fighting for its life heavily entangled in shark nets and boys just a few hundred metres from our world-famous Noosa beach. Yes, behind the glitz and glamour the nightlife of Hastings Street and all the tourists enjoying their coffees and café breakfast they all knew nothing of the heart-wrenching reality of the Noosa shark nets. It wasn't until I stood on Noosa Main Beach with a cardboard sign which is outside that people realised the heart-wrenching incident occurring in the pristine waters just offshore as the baby whale was entangled in netting, buoys and rope from the Queensland government's Shark Control Program. The calf's cries of helplessness and distress was heard by concerned Noosa residents and tourists during the night and the early hours of the morning on the 6th of October 2023 as we woke to the news of this calf's battle for survival. The gentle giant's cries pierced the hearts of those who witnessed this tragic scene as evident by one interstate tourist who detailed her harrowing experience whilst in Noosa. Let me read out a piece of what she wrote. I'm currently on holiday in Noosa from Tasmania. My accommodation last night was very close to Noosa Heads. As I woke at around 5 could hear a whale. This was not a pleasant or normal sound that you would expect from a whale, which was very concerning. My concerns were later confirmed when it was confirmed a baby humpback was stuck in a shark net. The night before, I had enjoyed watching a baby humpback breaching, although the joy it gave me was overshadowed by concern for the animal being so close to the nets. As a tourist, this leaves me feeling very guilty for supporting the economy in an area that still continues to advocate for shark nets and makes me not want to return. End thank you. Quote. Will this damage the work done by Noosa Council and Tourism Noosa promoting our region as Different by Nature, stating that nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than our commitment to our environment and sustainability. Coastal councils in New South Wales are now looking to opt out of their state Shark Control Program, known as the shark meshing program, with support from the New South Wales environment minister, penny sharp. The minister states in an email to another minister, following: I " understand work with local councils is progressing, to allow them to decide whether to continue to use shark nets in their local areas. Giving councils the choice to opt out of shark nets empowers local communities to decide the best mix of shark protection in their area. I propose that the Australian government our respective agencies work together and with local councils on a stage approach to remove the shark nets. With this in mind the Noosa Council has the opportunity to prove themselves as a smart biosphere embracing modern technologies and helping to transition an industry that relies on the capture and death of marine wildlife to one of marine conservation whilst ensuring water users feel safe in their ocean pursuits. I envision a new industry emerging drawing in creative youthfulness and innovation where once an ageing population hold of the Shark Control Program this approach aligns with the economic vision of the Noosa Council where you seek to transition to a smart biosphere. I strongly believe that the Noosa Council needs to take this opportunity to make a commitment to our environment and to make a clear policy condition. Position on the use of shark nets and drumlines in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. This position will help advocate for innovative solutions to replace outdated shark nets with alternative technologies that will balance public safety and marine wildlife conservation. Thank you.

Thank you. My first question is, does the next generation of Noosa residents, being young people, deserve modern solutions and in the management of shark mitigation strategies?

My second question was in my work as a youth eco leader I've learnt that 95% of the kids I talk to aged 8 to 19 years old do not want to fish sharks and they want to see them thriving in healthy populations of our coastline. We're so lucky to be named a UNESCO biosphere. Can we uphold our values of a biosphere and lead the way to be a trial site for the innovative shark mitigation strategies?