Nets taken in early

SHARK nets off five NSW north coast beaches where surfers have been killed and injured in a barrage of attacks are being hauled in early because the State Government is worried about whales.

Locals are furious because great whites and other maneaters are still lurking off the coast. A large great white recently surfaced off Boulder Beach, near Lennox Head, close to two surfers, one of whom was bitten by a shark off Ballina last year. Another whopper came close to surfers at Lennox Head last week.

“There’s a lot of concern among the surfing community that shark numbers are still high,” said Ballina councillor Phil Meehan.

The NSW Government will start removing the nets from beaches today – two weeks before a six-month trial was due to end – after “an increase in whale sightings”.