The Queensland Government has suspended the Great Barrier Reef’s 60-year shark control program after an Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled sharks found on drumlines must be released.
The Tribunal imposed new permit conditions on fisheries, meaning sharks found on drumlines can only euthanised on animal welfare grounds, and all bull and white shark will have to be tagged before release.
However Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said the program is being suspended because contractors will not be able to immediately comply with the new permit conditions, so the government is opting to remove hooks from drumlines on the Great Barrier Reef for now.
The government will appeal the decision, saying they ‘will always put human life first’.