SHARKS shmarks. Freo is declaring war on jellyfish.
The port city council is looking at installing a $69,500 net at South Beach to stop stingers: if it gets the green light it’ll be in place for next summer and cost $13,400 a year to maintain.
Two options being considered are a 100m x 100m net enclosing the swimming pontoon and a larger 170m x 100m enclosure at the southern end of the beach, as far as Island Street Groyne.
The fine mesh net, sitting a half-metre above the seafloor, allows sea grass and fish underneath but stops stingers in their tentacles.
South Ward councillor Jon Strachan says he stopped swimming at the beach for two years because the stingers got so bad, and a woman he swam with resorted to wearing a full-body rashi.
“South Beach is now a regional beach and an international tourist attraction,” Cr Strachan says. “I hear all sorts of international accents down here and it is extremely popular.
“This year it hasn’t been so bad for stinger attacks, but in the past it has been terrible.
“I suspect we will allocate money in the mid-year budget review for this.”
• Cr Jon Strachan isn’t keen on getting stung at South Beach. Photo by Matthew Dwyer
However, the response from councillors at the strategic committee meeting Wednesday night was lukewarm to say the best.
“When was the last time we received a complaint about stinger attacks at South Beach—it’s a lot of money to spend for what?” asked veteran Cr Doug Thompson.
“Children suffer the most from stingers, so wouldn’t Leighton Beach, which is very popular with kids, be a better location? I can’t see any business case for this.”
The council initially budgeted $25,000 for enclosures, but later discovered it would cost closer to $70,000.
To pay the extra, council staff recommended taking $44,500 from the $160,000 budget to replace the arts centre roof.
Cr Sam Wainwright says councillors need more data on stinger attacks and a discussion about which beach is best for nets.
Similar nets were recently installed at Busselton.
The nasty little invertebrates are common along the WA coast and prevalent in calmer waters such as Owen Anchorage and Cockburn Sound.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK
