By Chris Thomson | posted on February 8, 2018
MIDDLETON BEACH bathers may not be as safe as they think over the next month as a one-metre gap opens up in the Ellen Cove shark barrier.
City of Albany Executive Director Infrastructure and Environment Matthew Thomson said the shark barrier would be lowered by about a metre to allow a barge to move in and out of Ellen Cove while work was carried out on the Ellen Cove jetty.
“The sign at Middleton Beach warns swimmers that the enclosure net is open from February 19 to March 23 to facilitate the jetty works,” Mr Thomson asserted.
Inspection of the sign confirms that’s not strictly the case.
Under the heading “Swimming Enclosure Information”, the sign warns that no water activities will be allowed within 10m of the jetty while it is closed for re- pairs.
While there is a small ‘NET OPENING’ annotation on a diagram that illustrates the exclusion zone around the jetty, nowhere does the sign explain there will be a month-long, one-metre gap in the shark barrier.
At the beach on Tuesday, The Weekender collared Albany postal workers Andrew Walsh and Fred Norzel after their weekly swim inside the shark barrier.
Before their swim, neither of the men had noticed the sign.
Nor did they know of the impending hole in the shark net.
“I think I’ll continue on swimming,” Mr Norzel said when advised of the gap.
“We used to swim before when there was no net, so it doesn’t really matter now.”
Mr Walsh said he intended to keep joining Mr Norzel on the pair’s weekly swim.
“You do feel safer with the net, I must admit,” he said.
Both men said advice to the public on the planned net opening could be better.
They agreed the net raised public expectations of safety within the enclosure that may not necessarily be delivered between February 19 and March 23.
Mr Thomson said the jetty was being reconstructed because the timbers had reached the end of their useable life.
“Replacement will be like-for-like, and existing piles will remain in place to support the new structure,” he explained.
“During the work period, there will be no access to the jetty and a 10m exclusion zone will apply around the jetty.
“Swimmers are permitted to use the remaining area of the enclosure but should be aware the net is open.”
