The Minns Labor Government’s $120 million investment in the state’s Shark Management Program is delivering extra drone shark surveillance this coming spring and summer to help keep people safer in the water this summer.
For the first time two Tagged Shark Listening Stations have been installed in Sydney Harbour near Balmoral in Middle Harbour and Lady Bay in the Harbour’s east, to provide real-time alerts when tagged sharks are nearby.
Alerts are sent through the SharkSmart app when a tagged shark swims within approximately 500 metres of a listening station. These two stations can cover the movement of tagged sharks entering and exiting the Harbour.
The two Sydney Harbour Listening Stations are identical to the 37 existing stations operating along the NSW coastline currently tracking 1,698 white sharks, 938 tiger sharks and 374 bull sharks.
This will provide Harbour swimmers and water uses with additional information about shark movements and boosts the research on the movement and behaviour of bull sharks in the Harbour.
An additional $34 million investment by the Minns Labor Government to expand drone surveillance across beaches over winter recorded 750 shark sighting events since 1 July, with more than 200 intervention actions by Surf Life Saving NSW.
The NSW Government’s expanded drone program will ramp up from 1 September, providing record drone monitoring for sharks along the NSW coastline, including:
- Extended drone surveillance hours from 6:15am to 5:00pm from 1 September as daylight increases for Spring
- Expanded drone surveillance from 26 September over the NSW school holiday period
- A record 73 drones operating across 97 beaches to deliver shark surveillance
- More than 300,000 scheduled surveillance hours this year, representing a 1,200 per cent increase
From 1 September, 51 shark nets will be installed at beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong and complement the deployment of 305 SMART drumlines in the water from Tweed Heads to Bega.
Alongside the increase in shark mitigation measures, recent research has given us a ‘shark’s eye view’ into the behaviour of white sharks. NSW Government shark research PHD student Adrienne Gooden recently co-authored a research paper observing white shark behaviour using cameras and movement loggers deployed on juveniles.
Thirteen juvenile white sharks were studied off the NSW coast to obtain a rare glimpse of their daily lives, recording more than 68.5 hours of footage, capturing rare insights into how juvenile white sharks move, feed, and interact with their environment.
Most sharks were seen cruising slowly over sandy habitats rather than rocky reefs, suggesting that they may favour these areas to target bottom-dwelling prey or to move more easily through terrain. Only a few short bursts of rapid movement were recorded, indicating that active hunting by juvenile sharks may be relatively infrequent.
This research highlights how new technology, especially animal-mounted cameras, can help scientists better understand how sharks use different habitats along the NSW coastline.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:
“Our Government is focused on beach safety and we are investing $120 million in evidence-based shark measures such as drones, drumlines, listening stations and nets.
“I acknowledge there are some mixed views on shark nets, but we will use all tools available to enhance the safety of people swimming at our beaches and that includes nets rolling out on 1 September.
“The aim of the new Harbour listening stations is to improve our understanding of bull shark movements in the harbour and provide real-time notifications to the SharkSmart app when tagged sharks are detected nearby.
“We are investing in our science research to understand sharks better and use that to enhance our program to make our beaches safer for swimmers, surfers and families.
“While the risk of a shark interaction can never be eliminated entirely, everyone can take simple steps to reduce their risk, including checking local conditions and downloading the SharkSmart app.”
