NSW will soon have the world’s largest shark management program and the Nationals in NSW Government are bringing a substantial part of those resources and technology to protect Tweed beaches, Tweed Nationals MP Geoff Provest has announced.
“With COVID vaccination our region will reopen and our beaches will fill, so it is reassuring to have 15 SMART drumlines added to our arsenal, a VR4G listening station operating at Kingscliff and four shark-spotting drones,” Mr Provest said.
“These are on top of our current mitigation methods and it puts the Tweed at the forefront of the world’s largest suite of shark management tools and technologies when they are deployed across NSW beaches this summer.”
Mr Provest said not only is NSW now home to the world’s largest shark management program, but also the biggest domestic fleet of shark-spotting drones across the globe.
“Drones have proven time and again to be a vital tool for keeping beachgoers safe from shark attacks. In NSW, they have observed 230 sharks and implemented 121 counter measures,” Mr Provest said.
“The spring school holidays will see the start of these eyes in the sky protecting beachgoers, with the drones continuing to operate throughout summer and autumn.”
The NSW Government encourages all beachgoers to be SharkSmart when entering the ocean or estuarine environments and download the SharkSmart app. For more information on the technologies used, visit www.sharksmart.nsw.gov.au.
The NSW Government’s $21.4 million Shark Management Program includes:
· the world’s largest domestic drone fleet (in partnership with Surf Life Saving NSW);
· up to 170 SMART drumlines;
· VR4G listening stations in every local government area; and
· shark nets in the Greater Sydney region as part of the Shark Meshing Program