For the past two weeks local photographer Dan Kirkman from Something Visual has been tracking the endangered Grey Nurse shark along Forster’s Main Beach from the Bullring to the breakwall.
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“The fact that these sharks have been Grey Nurse and that there were no swimmers at the time I captured these shots there's been no real need to alert anyone of these 'puppy dogs of the sea',” Dan said.
“The truth is, since the first flight I spotted one of these sharks in the shore I have gone back numerous times with one hundred per cent sighting success,” he said.
As long as the juvenile white sharks stay beyond the beacon we should all be sweet.
- Dan Kirkman
“In a 20 minute flight on two occasions I spotted a single shark, two other occasions two sharks, and three occasions there were three nurse sharks spread out along the beach from the Bullring to the breakwall at the same time, all swimming towards the wall and then heading deep into the channel.
“I'm wanting to share this info as over the coming days there is a real possibility of this usually dormant beach becoming pretty active with surf running behind the Bullring.
“These are only Grey Nurse sharks but the fact that we've had a lot of rain has affected the water clarity and made it more important to remain alert if surfing over the coming days, especially in the afternoon.
“As long as the juvenile white sharks stay beyond the beacon we should all be sweet.”
Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair today, July 3, announced 50 new SMART drumlines would be trialled along the coastline in a bid to further protect beachgoers from the risk of shark attack.
He said the expansion of SMART drumlines was in addition to the 35 already being successfully used on the North Coast.
“We will now have 85 SMART drumlines on the water – with another 15 to be regularly used by researchers for targeted tagging trips,” Mr Blair said.
“SMART drumlines are the future of shark detection and mitigation and we are leading the world in this technology - they protect human life while minimising the impact on marine species.
“You can’t argue with the data – SMART drumlines have proven to be five-times more effective than mesh nets on the North Coast during our six month trial earlier this year.”
Mesh nets caught just seven target sharks (including three white sharks) while 25 SMART drumlines caught 37 target sharks (including 31 white sharks) in the same period.
Ten SMART drumlines will be trialled off beaches in five coastal locations including Shellharbour-Kiama, Shoalhaven, Mid North Coast, Forster and Byron Bay.
SMART drumlines will be deployed daily (weather permitting) – when a shark is caught the integrated communications unit sends an alert via phone, email and text to contractors and researchers who attend and if conditions permit sharks are tagged, relocated and released.
Similar to the VR4G listening stations, the locations for the SMART drumlines are based on historical data on shark attacks, aerial surveillance, beach-use data and consultation with relevant local councils.
“We are targeting white, bull and tiger sharks to look at their movements over time in order to gain a better understanding of behaviour patterns,” Mr Blair said.
“These tagged sharks are able to be tracked on our network of 20 VR4G listening stations which are also located near all five coastal areas to provide real-time tracking data.”
