A small group of protesters has gathered on Bondi Beach to protest against the use of shark nets in NSW.

September 17, 2017

A small group of surfers, swimmers and shark lovers has gathered to form a giant turtle on Bondi Beach to protest the use of shark nets in NSW.

They called on the NSW government to remove the nets, saying not only do they not work, they claim a devastating toll on other marine life.

The government began its annual rollout of shark nets at 56 NSW beaches from Lennox Head to Wollongong on September 1.

Rally organiser and Greens marine spokesman Justin Field says each year the nets kill hundreds of turtles, dolphins, stingrays, and non-threatening species of sharks like the Grey Nurse.

“There are modern smart drum lines, community observer programs, better observation tower for lifeguards and personal deterrent devices available,” he told AAP.

“They’re the sort of strategies that keep people safe in the water.”

Humane Society International head of campaigns, Nicola Beynon, backed calls for change.

She said shark nets were about protecting politicians from the media, not about protecting swimmers.

“It’s a crime to have those nets out here off our beaches,” she told AAP.

No Shark Cull vice-chair Sharnie Connell called on Premier Gladys Berejiklian to implement strategies already tested by her predecessor Mike Baird.

“We’ve got alternatives and it’s time to get rid of the nets in NSW, they do nothing for beach safety,” she told AAP.

Shark nets deployed by the Department of Primary Industry are fitted with acoustic warning devices to alert dolphins and whales but an annual report found 373 animals were caught in the nets last summer and more than half of them died.

Less than 20 per cent of animals caught in the meshing were sharks.