On the 1st September, 51 shark nets were installed along various beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong. The nets had been deployed around the same time of year for almost a century - having first been trialled in 1937.

In their original incarnation, the nets bound whole beaches but were later reduced to shorter lengths deployed in mobile locations at the discretion of contractors - the aim being to deter sharks establishing territory rather than keeping them out.

This year, however, the roll out of shark nets is slightly different than past years. Having historically been overseen by the NSW Department of Fisheries, the state government has in recent years sought advice from local councils, increasing their involvement in the issue.

This is at least partly in response to a growing awareness of the net’s by-catch, which has fuelled backlash against them. Figures from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) show that last season the nets caught 199 non-target animals with 149 of them perishing. The by-catch included dolphins, turtles, grey nurse sharks.

Earlier this year, three Sydney councils: Waverley, Northern Beaches, and Central Coast, pledged to trial the removal of shark nets on their beaches, though each would deploy nets on September 1st with the trial happening later in the season.

When popular Northern Beaches surfer Mercury Psillakis was taken at Long Reef on Saturday there was a net off nearby Dee Why, plus two SMART drum lines also in the vicinity. Between the devastating attack and the uncertain science around shark nets, the NSW State govt has decided to pause the trial until further notice.

At a press conference yesterday, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the trial's rollout would now need to wait until there was more information on Saturday's fatal shark attack.

"We believe the right thing to do is to wait for the investigation to come back about how this happened, what happened and the circumstances surrounding it,” said Premier Minns.

"We want to make sure that we have the information in front of us before we take that kind of decision, and I'm not going to make any decision before that report is back to the NSW government." 

The government has confirmed that the DPIRD is collating a report on the incident, though it’s unsure when the report is due.

Mercury Psillakis, who was 57-years old, is survived by twin brother Mike, wife Maria, and daughter Freedom.

A member of Long Reef Boardriders the club has written a touching tribute to Mercury on their Facebook page.