{"id":179475,"date":"2025-09-30T07:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T07:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/179475\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T07:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T07:16:11","slug":"group-airs-video-of-dolphin-in-shark-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/179475\/","title":{"rendered":"group airs video of dolphin in shark net"},"content":{"rendered":"

An international marine conservation organisation has shared \u201cheartbreaking\u201d footage of a dead dolphin in a shark net off one of Queensland\u2019s most popular beaches and called for alternative safety measures.<\/p>\n

Sea Shepherd shark defence campaigner Rebecca Griffiths said the incident off Noosa was one of many avoidable marine tragedies this year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Department of Primary Industries spokesperson said the state government\u2019s priority was to keep people safe and that operational processes were being reviewed amid a commitment to minimise the impact of nets on non-target species.<\/p>\n

Ms Griffiths explained how Sea Shepherd became aware of the dolphin.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the local whale-watching boats reported that something was entangled in the shark net and one of our volunteers (Taylor Ladd-Hudson) was quickly notified through their network,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

WARNING: The footage and image below may distress some readers<\/p>\n

\u201cThey arrived on scene soon after and launched a drone to confirm the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSadly, the drone footage revealed a dolphin that was badly entangled and already deceased.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it was a despondent scene that was shared by the group on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea Shepherd is heartbroken to see yet another marine animal loses their life in these deadly shark nets,\u201d she told Sunshine Coast News. \u201cDolphins are mammals who must reach the surface to breathe and we can only imagine the terror and suffering they endured as they drowned, trapped and helpless.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

QFish data revealed that 13 of 14 mammals caught in shark nets off the Sunshine Coast this year have died, including 11 dolphins and two whales. Other species, including turtles and rays, have also perished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese tragedies are not rare,\u201d Ms Griffiths said. \u201cThese deaths and entanglements are entirely avoidable. Shark nets should never be in the ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cSea Shepherd opposes shark nets because they don\u2019t protect ocean users. Shark nets are not barriers: they don\u2019t reach the sea bed or stop sharks from entering swimming areas. What shark nets do is indiscriminately kill marine life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want shark nets removed and replaced with modern, non-lethal alternatives backed by science, like drone surveillance for shark spotting and public education campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whales were recently caught in nets off Noosa<\/a>, Marcoola<\/a> and Mooloolaba.<\/p>\n

Ms Griffiths said Sea Shepherd shared images like the one captured at Noosa \u201cto raise public awareness of the reality of how ineffective yet cruel these shark nets are\u201d.<\/p>\n

The DPI spokesperson said the Shark Control Program received a call about the dolphin on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cShark Control Program contractors attended to the\u00a0dolphin\u00a0as soon as possible and unfortunately it was deceased,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The spokesperson said the state government was committed to protecting people in the water and it was reviewing its operations and investigating its safety options.<\/p>\n

\u201cShark control equipment is in place to protect human safety but we are also dedicated to minimising the impact on whales and marine animals in Queensland\u2019s waters,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continually review our operational processes and use the latest research and technology to minimise the impact of shark nets and drumlines on non-target sharks and other marine animals.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more local news videos SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel. Just click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"A dolphin died after being caught in a net at Noosa. Picture: Taylor Ladd-Hudson, Sea Shepherd.<\/p>\n

The Shark Control Program aims to minimise impact on other marine life by using shark control contractors to regularly check nets and drumlines for captured animals, and releasing non-target shark species and other animals alive whenever possible; using drumlines instead of nets where possible, as marine mammals are less likely to be entangled in drumlines; using electronic warning devices (pingers) to deter whales and dolphins from swimming near nets and drumlines; and using alternative baits or apparatus configurations to reduce the incidences of dolphins and turtles being caught on drumlines or in nets.<\/p>\n

The program is also conducting a comparative trial of circle hooks and J hooks to assess the effect on catches of target sharks, non-target sharks and other marine animals.<\/p>\n

There were some reports of a baby dolphin also being entangled at Noosa but that was not the case. There was a tuna and several small sharks also in the net.<\/p>\n

A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said local authorities supported adoption of new technologies and backed a university research project to learn more about sharks in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Shark Control Program is the responsibility of the Queensland Government,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunshine Coast Council encourages research and adoption of new technologies and has provided funding for a research project by Dr Bonnie Holmes from UniSC into bull shark ecology and movements<\/a> along the coast and in estuaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis study will help to inform future ecosystem management and shark control initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been 191 sharks caught on the Sunshine Coast this year, with 39 of them targeted.<\/p>\n

Noosa mayor Frank Wilkie said the recent incident involving a whale in a shark net off Noosa \u201creinforced the need for the state government to consider a trial of removing the mesh nets during the winter migrating season\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncil endorsed a Mayoral Minute in July, requesting the state trial removing the mesh nets for the shark control program and use other non-lethal measures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Conservation group Noosa Against Nets will hold a peaceful protest at Hastings Street on October 4, calling for shark nets to be removed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An international marine conservation organisation has shared \u201cheartbreaking\u201d footage of a dead dolphin in a shark net off…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-179475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}