THE decision by Whitsunday Regional Council to remove the stinger net enclosure from Cannonvale Beach has sparked outrage among members of the local community.

Cannonvale resident and former citizen of the year Maz McDougall is among those upset enough to have started a petition.

"I just thought, 'what are they thinking?'," Ms McDougall said.

"I mean the kids come down here to swim, the locals do use Cannonvale Beach more than anyone and the tourists are also coming in more now that we've got the Fat Frog Cafe. We know it doesn't keep out irukandji 100 per cent, but it's better than nothing and it does keep out box jellyfish," she said.

Ms McDougall said another bone of contention was the lack of community consultation.

"My issue is there was no consultation with the community - we just read in the paper the stinger nets are gone," she said.

"There's always been an enclosure at Cannonvale Beach - I've lived here 30 years and without this there is nowhere to swim in Cannonvale."

Fellow Cannonvale resident Sabrina Mitchell was equally upset, saying she was "flabbergasted" by Council's system for monitoring the net's use, done in May, outside of a school holiday period.

"Yes, we might not swim as much in May because it's cold, but when the tide's in the kids do still use it," she said.

Meanwhile, Ms McDougall said by Council's own forward estimates, the costs of keeping the stinger net for the next two years amounted to $61 per day.

"Is that not worth someone's life?" she asked.

Mayor Jennifer Whitney is now urging the community to come back to Council with their concerns.

"If there's a need [to maintain the enclosure], they need to demonstrate that to Council very quickly," she said.

"We've got a resolution but if we had overwhelming community requests I would undertake to take it back to Council."

An online petition is available to sign at http://www.change.org/petitions/whitsunday-regional-council-reinstate-the-cannonvale-beach-stinger-net and there is also a Facebook page titled 'Save Cannonvale Stinger Net'. Hard copies of the petition will be available at selected local businesses within the week.