Tech deterrents against shark attacks under scrutiny

Shark experts from around the world will meet in Sydney today to discuss the best technologies available to stop shark attacks.

“The data that I’ve seen for the last three years whether it’s from WA, whether it’s from Sydney or whether it’s in Cape Town or whether it’s in Ballina have all said, “don’t kill the sharks”, he said.

Over 70 shark experts from Australia and from other countries across the globe will be attending the summit.

Ballina Mayor David Wright said the community is hoping the summit produces a few concrete recommendations.

“The hidden cost of shark nets is the whales, dolphins and turtles that regularly get caught up in the nets”.

Various attack deterrents including a shark-detecting buoy – which sends a text message to lifeguards when it detects a nearby predator – will be discussed at the Taronga Zoo meeting.

To date, a total of 13 shark attacks have been recorded in NSW, which was higher than the previous record in 2014 of three incidents.

“Making our beaches safer is a top priority for the NSW Government that’s why we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure we look at new and innovative ways to protect our beaches”, Mr Blair said.

But the review found that only one deterrent – a shark spotting program – was suitable for immediate trial.

Yesterday the meeting heard from a marine biologist who has been trying to develop environmentally friendly shark repellents at open-ocean beaches in South Africa.

The research by the University of Sydney also revealed that many people want more research into human-shark interactions.

New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water, Niall Blair, said the summit is about having information to then lead a science-based approach to the issue.

The North Coast Local Waters Shark Tagging Project is tracking eight great whites tagged off the coast of Ballina and the State Government says results so far show the sharks are travelling widely.

“We know that we’ve had a spike [of attacks] on the north coast New South Wales recently and we wanted to know if that was a one off occurrence or if this is something we should be concerned about for the future”.