A large fleet of drones will be deployed along the New South Wales coast to protect swimmers and surfers from sharks this summer as the government almost triples its shark management budget.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the $21.4 program will expand its use of drumlines, listening stations and the world’s largest fleet of domestic drones.
“There is no other jurisdiction in Australia or across the globe which has done as much testing and trialling of technology and approaches to mitigate shark interactions,” Mr Barilaro said.
In the coming weeks the government will work with coastal councils to make sure 50 beaches have a “shark-spotting eye-in-the-sky” said Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall.
“This summer season, we will be deploying over 100 SMART drumlines in nearly every coastal council area starting with Kingscliff, Tuncurry and Coffs Harbour next month,” Mr Marshall said.
Sources: 9 News; Katherine Times