Ep 9 | Carl Musker | Surfers, Shark Data & the Fight for a Seat at the Table | Crossing the Tideline

This episode I'm joined by Carl Musker from Sydney's Northern Beaches, one of the most shark-active stretches of coastline in the world right now. A Long Reef Boardriders member for more than 30 years, Carl is part of an alliance of surfers and community members who are pushing for stronger government action on shark mitigation. Carl is also a close friend of the Psilakis family and was surfing at Long Reef with Mercury on the morning he was fatally attacked. In this conversation, Carl explains why he believes surfers and others who frequent the ocean need to be listened to when it comes to government decision-making around shark management. He's been in council chambers, in meetings with local members, and alongside the Psilakis family at state government level and also helped build a simple community shark sighting and interaction logbook that has recorded over 100 engagements in its first four weeks. In this conversation Carl talks about what the community has been living through and the anxiety that's become part of everyday life on Sydney's Northern Beaches. The car park conversations about shark activity, beach closures, human safety and the lengths people are now going to just to feel comfortable entering the water. This chat with Carl was recorded on the 25th of April. This episode also features short contributions from Lucas Townsend from Surfing NSW on recent government drone funding announcements, filmmaker and surfer Will Sommerville on what it's felt like in the water lately and local business owner Matt Grainger on how the activity is hitting the community economically. Carl also recorded a message this week with an update on what's changed since we spoke.