"They catch and kill hundreds of non-target marine animals in the Great Barrier Reef ... [and] provide nothing more than a completely false sense of security, at the expense of the lives of threatened species."

Tooni Mahto, fisheries and threatened species campaign manager at Australian Marine Conservation Society said the footage highlighted the myopic attitudes towards sharks by successive Queensland governments.

"They have been using the same, ineffective, lethal methods since the 1960s. It is past time for a change in our views of sharks and a change in policy to reflect that," she said.

Nets and baited drum lines were introduced to Queensland waters in 1962 and target sharks that become hooked are shot on sight by government contractors who monitor them.

Environmental groups have been calling for their removal because they are indiscriminate and lead to the deaths of other animals, but the Queensland government insists they will stay because they save human lives.

According to statistics from Queensland's Shark Control Program, 10,480 sharks - most of them harmless - have been caught on lethal drum lines since 2001. Significant numbers of rays, turtles, fish and dolphins are also caught and killed on drumlines.

Humane Society International is taking legal action against the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the state government.

It is arguing that allowing 173 lethal drum lines to operate within the Great Barrier Reef is inconsistent with the main objective of the Marine Park, which is "to provide for the long-term protection and conservation of the environment, biodiversity and heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef Region".

Since the legal challenge was launched, the state government has removed seven of 26 species of shark from its target list. This means that, while those species will no longer be shot dead if found alive on a drum line, they can still be hooked and die.