Drones Against Sharks: Australia Moves to Make Its Beaches Safer

Before sunrise, 22-year-old drone pilot Taha Kafil-Hussain scans Sydney’s Coogee Beach for anything moving differently from normal. Usually he sees turtles or seaweed. Sometimes he sees sharks.

Kafil-Hussain is one of numerous pilots working for Surf Life Saving New South Wales as the state prepares its beaches for summer. Since early September, drones have operated from 6:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. across the longer spring days. The government says 73 drones are now deployed at 97 beaches, a record. Since early July, they have enabled more than 750 shark sightings and triggered more than 200 lifesaving-service operations.

New South Wales has committed more than 70 million euros to the broader safety program. More than 50 shark nets protect beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong. The state is also using more than 300 smart drumlines, each fitted with an anchor, two buoys and bait carrying a GPS device. When a shark takes the bait and pulls the line, experts receive an alert. They tag the shark and release it.

Two listening stations in Sydney Harbour now send real-time warnings through the Shark Smart app when tagged sharks come within roughly 500 metres. The stations have recorded 1,698 great white sharks, 938 tiger sharks and 374 bull sharks, the three species most often associated with serious bites.

The latest investment followed a June attack at Coogee Beach. Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher, suffered severe injuries from a four-metre great white shark and lost her left arm. Despite the expanding technology, experts warn that surveillance and alerts should not give beachgoers a false sense of security.

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I look for anything that moves differently from normal.