24Beach safety meshing nets

24 Beach safety meshing nets

24 Beach safety meshing nets

(1) It is lawful for an officer of the Department or a person acting on behalf of the Secretary to use a beach safety meshing net if the net is used for the purposes of shark meshing activities and complies with the following conditions—

(a) the net is used only as a sunk net and no part of the net (excluding buoys) is on the surface of the water,

(b) the floatline and leadline consist of synthetic rope of 150 metres in length and at least 8 mm in diameter and have a breaking strain of at least 900 kg,

(c) approved net floats are attached to the floatline at intervals of not more than 5 metres,

(d) the netting twine is continuous synthetic filament with a breaking strain of at least 60 kg,

(e) the mesh size is 60 cm and the number of meshes is not less than 12 meshes deep so that the net is approximately 6 metres high when set,

(f) both ends of the net are marked on the surface of the water by a buoy that—

(i) is moored so as to be positioned above the end of the net, and

(ii) measures at least 200 mm in all dimensions, and

(iii) displays “SHARK NET” in clearly visible letters.

(2) To measure the mesh size, the net is to be soaked in water for a period of not less than 5 minutes, then stretched out and the distance between the inside edges of the knots measured using a steel rule that is certified in accordance with the National Measurement Act 1960 of the Commonwealth or in a manner approved by the Secretary.

(3) In this clause, approved net float means a float that is at least 10 cm in diameter and at least 5 cm in thickness or a float of equivalent buoyancy approved by the Secretary.