Surf Life Saving NSW will operate daily drone flights from dawn to dusk across 70 beaches in New South Wales under an expanded $34 million shark monitoring program announced by Premier Chris Minns. The initiative aims to restore confidence among beachgoers following a series of shark sightings and attacks, including a great white shark attack on Sydney mother Leah Stewart at Coogee beach earlier this month, who is no longer in critical condition.
Year-round coverage from 1 July
Starting 1 July, the 70 beaches covered year-round include all 38 of Sydney’s ocean beaches—from Palm Beach in the north to Cronulla in the south—plus 32 beaches in the rest of the state. The program also promises greater drone monitoring at other regional beaches, with daily flights from 1 December to 30 April, flights every weekend throughout the year, and extended daily flight hours.
Premier Minns said on Sunday, “While no one can ever promise no shark interactions, this investment is about putting more eyes in the sky so we can spot sharks earlier and give people a clear heads-up when they’re in the water.”
Surf Life Saving NSW to lead drone operations
The expanded program will be carried out by Surf Life Saving NSW, which already conducts drone surveillance, including an existing school holiday drone program along the coast. Steve Pearce, chief executive of Surf Life Saving NSW, said drones have been an “extremely effective component” of the state’s shark management program, “having this year alone identified and prevented over 2000 sharks interacting with swimmers and surfers, and conducting over 100,000 flights.”
Trials of AI shark detection systems
The funding includes trials of new artificial intelligence shark detection systems over summer, which the government hopes will pave the way for automated flights. University of Sydney shark policy expert Associate Professor Christopher Pepin-Neff described the planned use of AI as “ambitious and bold.” However, they cautioned, “We need to be realistic about what drones can do and what they can’t do. With more drones in the air, that is going to mean sharks are discussed a lot more across Australian beaches. We need to treat the beach like the bush. It’s the wild.”
Coverage will not be limited to patrolled beaches but will not take place at every beach in the state. The 70 beaches benefiting from year-round drone monitoring include at least one beach in every coastal local government area, focusing on those with the highest numbers of swimmers and surfers.
No cull for great white sharks
Following multiple attacks in the past 12 months, some fatal, Premier Minns has resisted calls for a cull, including of great white sharks, which are a protected species. He told Sky News on Sunday morning that “the distances these [white] sharks travel are massive. It’s not like we can knock a few off and send a message to the rest of them.”
Pepin-Neff agreed, noting, “White sharks are pelagic, so they travel the entire ocean, they don’t travel together. A white shark on Tuesday could be from New Zealand, and the white shark on Wednesday could be from Queensland … so doing a cull doesn’t have any effect on them.”
Minns said it was “a different situation for bull sharks”—not a protected species—and the government was “looking at all of those measures. We’re looking particularly at an audit of the number of sharks in Sydney harbour.” However, Pepin-Neff stated there is “zero evidence to support shark culls as a way to make beaches safer.”
Additional measures in Sydney harbour
Two SharkSmart listening stations in Sydney harbour will alert swimmers to tagged sharks. The program aims to provide enhanced safety for beachgoers while maintaining conservation efforts for protected species.
