New South Wales will reinstate shark nets along the coast this week in one of the world’s largest deterrent programs as part of a $120 million investment.
From Tuesday, 51 shark nets will be installed across beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong for spring and summer.
The Minns government has also started to deploy 305 SMART drumlines, which allow for the tagging of sharks, in the water from Tweed Heads to Bega.
As a new safety introduction this year, drone surveillance will also be strengthened from Tuesday with extended operating hours from 6:15am to 5pm, to coincide with increased daylight hours for Spring.
The expansion of drone surveillance will see a record 73 drones working across 97 beaches.
In a state first, two Tagged Shark Listening Stations have also been installed in the Sydney Harbour, which detect tagged sharks swimming within 500 meters.
Alerts are then sent through the SharkSmart app once a shark is detected, with the two stations able to cover any detections in and out of the Sydney Harbour.
New South Wales already has 37 stations along the coastline, which tracks 1,698 white sharks, 938 tiger sharks and 374 bull sharks.
The shark nets, which have been installed every summer since 1937, do not spread from one end of the beach to the other, and are not designed to create a total barrier, but instead deter sharks from establishing territories at the beaches.
Shark nets are controversial among residents in regard to animal safety, with the government admitting that they “also catch non-targeted species, such as grey nurse shark”.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty addressed shark net concerns in a statement about the shark deterrents.
“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,” she said.
New South Wales has experienced heightened demands for better shark protection, after a fatal attack in January of a 12-year-old boy in the Sydney Harbour and the attack on a mother at Coogee Beach in June by a great white shark.
In July, Premier Chris Minns launched the $120 million shark program and announced the introduction of world-leading technology in the form of heavy drone surveillance.
The state had planned in 2025 to trial the removal of shark nets at three beaches, but swiftly put it on hold when a surfer was fatally attacked by a shark at Long Reef Beach leading up to it.