Safer Swimming Australia

Safer Swimming Australia Barrier Nets and Secure Swimming Areas and Enclosures
Safer Swimming Australia Barrier Nets and Secure Swimming Areas and Enclosures
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Bar Beach, Narooma Shark Barrier

The Brief

The team at Eurobodalla Shire Council (ESC) reached out to us with a request for a quotation to replace their ageing shark barrier.

Their requirements included:

  • Buoy System - must be included as part of the net to ensure flotation, correct positioning and visibility
  • Durability & Maintenance - barrier material must be highly durable, UV and saltwater resistant, designed to minimise entanglement or damage to marine life, with low maintenance requirements preferred
  • Compatibility - Compatible with existing anchoring points

Additionally, the location where the barrier is installed is within a Marine Park, so any material used in construction had to be approved by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

And finally, the team at ESC wanted the barrier to be easy to install so that they could minimise the budget impacts of annual deployment and retrieval.

The Solution

With all of these requirements in mind, we came up with a design that responded to the council’s requirements.

The DPI reviewed the barrier mesh we proposed (a diamond-shaped netting with 280mm sides) and approved it for use within the Marine Park. The mesh has a semi-rigid stainless steel core which reduces the risk of entanglement to marine mammals.

The final barrier design has three panels to make handling onboard the deployment vessel easier.

Panel one is a small stainless steel panel that was fabricated to go between the rock wall and the first piling.

Panel two runs parallel to the beach between the two new pilings. To make installation easy, we supplied piling collars for attaching the top float lines to.

Panel three runs from the piling into the beach and is contoured to the beach.

Bar Beach, Narooma barrier panels and buoys laid out before delivery

The Result

The project was supplied on time and on budget – with a manufacture, production and shipping time of just 12 weeks from Safer Swimming Australia receiving the purchase order to it being delivered to council in NSW.

Stainless steel barrier panel between the rock wall and first piling at Bar Beach, Narooma
Diver attaching the barrier float line to a piling collar at Bar Beach, Narooma
Barrier panel contoured to the beach and anchored to a piling at Bar Beach, Narooma
Shark barrier running between pilings at Bar Beach, Narooma

We don’t make ‘shark nets’

Shark nets, as used on the east coast of Australia, are not only ineffective, they are also dangerous. At Safer Swimming Australia, we make barriers, not nets – and there’s a big difference.

  • Shark nets are large mesh monofilament nets designed to catch and kill large marine life such as sharks, but they are non-discriminate and kill many harmless marine animals.
  • These nets are typically strung across bays but do not form complete barriers and do not reach from surface to sea floor. Many sharks and other animals are caught leaving the area, rather than entering it.
  • Studies show that nets do not necessarily reduce the rate of shark interactions with humans, and the NSW government is moving to remove some of its nets. This move is welcomed by experts who say nets are ineffective at preventing shark bites.
  • Environmental groups highlight that nets catch many non-target species (dolphins, turtles, rays) and do not fully enclose beaches, allowing sharks to swim around them.
  • Our beach enclosures offer a protected swimming area with a physical barrier to reduce the risk of a shark encounter and, unlike nets, are designed not to trap marine life such as dolphins, rays or turtles. The barriers go from the sea floor to the surface, so they are completely impenetrable - marine life cannot enter, so cannot be trapped.

Safer Swimming Australia can work with your Council to design a solution that is safe, sustainable, and a sound investment.

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