The latest marine bycatch data shows drum lines are more effective at catching target sharks and safer for all marine life than shark nets, prompting the Greens to call for an immediate end to the North Coast shark net trial.
But despite committing to increase the number of drum lines deployed on the North Coast from 25 to 35, Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair insists a decision has not yet been made about the fate of the nets, which are to be removed on June 13 at the end of what will then be a six-month trial period.
Former premier Mike Baird announced a shark net trial in October 2016 on five beaches in and near Ballina after a series of shark incidents alarmed the north coast community.
It was just two weeks after the government had committed to using "smart drum lines", which use GPS technology to alert Department of Primary Industries scientists when a shark is caught.
The shark net trial announcement came just two days after Mr Baird's backflip on banning greyhounds.
Critics of nets claimed they would be lethal not just to sharks, some of which are endangered, but to other forms of marine life, including humpback whales.
In the five months from early December to early May, 127 "non-target" animals were found dead in the five trial nets at three Ballina beaches, Seven Mile Beach and Evans Head Beach, including an endangered green turtle. Another 117 animals were released alive.
Six target sharks were caught - two white, one bull and three tiger sharks - and three were tagged and released alive.
In the same period, the 25 North Coast drum lines, which are designed as a non-lethal shark "management tool", caught 29 target sharks, 24 of them white sharks, with just one found dead after it was tangled in the line.
Two non-target animals - grey nurse sharks - were caught and released alive.
The department says that potentially dangerous sharks caught on the drum lines are tagged and relocated at least one kilometre offshore.
"Recent tracks from tagged sharks shows that they often head further offshore immediately after release (for the first 24 to 48 hours), so in addition to minimising any threat of an interaction with water users, having them move offshore after release further enhances the utility of SMART drum lines as a non-lethal bather protection tool," the department's website says.
NSW Greens marine environment spokesman Justin Field said: "The evidence is in - shark nets are little more than floating death traps for all marine life while SMART drum lines appear to be an effective means of catching target sharks."
Mr Field called on the government to end the shark net trial early and backed the use of drum lines "supported by other non-lethal shark management techniques" such as Shark Watch, better resourcing lifeguards and personal deterrent devices.
But Mr Blair said the nets would continue to be used until mid-June and the community, the federal government and DPI shark scientists would be consulted before a final decision was made by early spring.
"When the nets are removed, we will increase the number of SMART drum lines to 35 (currently 25) - this will also be the most effective measure as the whale migration period begins on the North Coast," Mr Blair said.
Helicopter surveillance would continue to operate on the north coast on weekends and there would be daily flights, supplemented by drones, during the July school holidays to provide shark surveillance at popular beaches, he said.
