Nets deployed at NSW beaches to protect swimmers hardly ever catch dangerous sharks but are snaring and killing an alarming number of threatened species.

New government data shows just how ineffective the shark nets are at catching target species deemed a threat to people.

Just 24 of the 228 animals caught in the 2022/23 netting season were targeted white and tiger sharks.

The rest – more than 90 per cent – were non-target species including turtles, rays, dolphins and smaller sharks. And 71 per cent were threatened or protected species.

About two thirds of the non-target species that were ensnared died.

The latest data, released by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, follows a pledge by the Minns government to “support the reassessment of shark nets to move towards non-lethal, new technologies”.

The Australian arm of the Humane Society International has long campaigned for an end to the netting program, which sees nets installed for eight months of every year at 51 beaches from Newcastle south to Wollongong.

HSI marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck said it was time to end the carnage, especially given all of those beaches have alternative shark safety measures, such as SMART drumlines, alert systems and drone surveillance.

“These figures tell the same tragic story every year when the NSW shark net data is revealed and it’s why coastal councils and residents are fed up with the nets,” he said.

“Shark nets don’t discriminate.

“This season, 100 per cent of dolphins and 50 per cent of turtles caught in the nets were killed.

“How can we continue to justify a program so reckless with our precious marine life?”

He said it was time to consign shark nets to history, given the wealth of data showing how ineffective they were.

Australian Marine Conservation Society shark scientist Leonardo Guida said solutions like drones and shark tracking aligned with community expectations about minimising environmental harms.

“Come September the NSW government should keep the nets out and the drones up,” Dr Guida said.

“The return of shark nets is an abject failure in public safety policy, given the NSW government has modern-day solutions in place that improve beach safety for humans and wildlife alike.”

HSI said nets did not stop shark attacks and the entrapment of non-target species could actually draw them in.

AAP is seeking comment from the NSW government.

Shark nets are deployed every year on September 1 and stay in the water until the end of April.

– AAP