Drumlines are now restored

WHETHER you agree or not that the Queensland Government’s shark control program works, you have to admit the situation where some Cairns beaches were covered by drumlines and some – just a few kilometres away – were not, did not make a whole amount of sense.

From today, drumlines will be restored to all of the city’s beaches, from Ellis to Holloways, after they were all removed following the controversial Federal Court Administrative Tribunal Decision made last year.

Marine wildlife activists successfully argued that the program was responsible for culling too many sharks within the Great Barrier Reef marine park.

But now, it seems human safety trumps conservation concerns, so now the drumlines are back.

No matter what protective equipment is installed off beaches, there is no guarantee you will be safe from a shark attack if you go swimming in the sea. But the chances of an attack are – thankfully – quite rare. While marine stingers are always the bigger concern in this part of the world, there is some simple guidelines you can follow to ensure you don’t end up being nibbled on.

This includes: not swimming at dawn nor dusk; not throwing food scraps or fish guts overboard, where there is likely to be people swimming; snorkelling, swimming or diving with a buddy; and following local signage, to swim between the flags at patrolled beaches.

At the end of the day, when you venture into the ocean, you need to remember: this is a habitat you are not adapted to survive in, whereas sharks have a headstart of millions of years. It’s just unfortunate, they haven’t adapted to surviving us. Daniel Bateman daniel.bateman@news.com.au