The roll-out of SMART (Shark-Management-Alert-In-Real Time) drumlines along beaches in the Great Lakes has already proved its worth snagging six sharks in the first four days of the program.
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Fifteen new drumlines were last week dropped along the coastline from Tuncurry in the north and south to Seven Mile Beach.
Drumlines were dropped approximately 500 metres off-shore at a depth of up to 8-15 metres.
The five white sharks and one juvenile tiger were tagged with a tracking device, attached to the base of the animal's dorsal fin, and released one kilometre off-shore, within 30 minutes of alerting a local contractor of the capture.
Depending on the weather, drumlines are set every morning with a single mullet and collected at the end of each day.
Drumlines are not left out over-night.
Announcing the $21.4 million 2021-22 Shark Management program, Member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead said the deployment of SMART drumlines was part of the world's largest shark management program.
"There is an inherent risk every time we enter the water," he said.
"However, the NSW Government is committed to helping beachgoers feel safe when they head out," he said.
"We know this will mean a lot to the community considering the tragic fatal shark attack on Tuncurry beach in May this year."
The program is backed up with three VR4G listening stations along Forster Main Beach, Bennetts Beach, Hawks Nest and Old Bar, while drone use has doubled this summer to include Black Head and Cape Hawke surf life saving clubs, in addition to the on-going Forster surf club program
Department of Primary Industries shark program leader, Marcel Green explained the SMART drumline program concentrated on three target sharks - white, tiger and bull; the species most likely to be involved in a serious attack.
He said information collected from trials conducted by the department had shown that relocated sharks moved away from the area for several months, before resuming its natural migratory path.
Mr Green said the majority of tagged sharks were juveniles, of up to about 3.8 metres.
"We don't have a good handle on where the adults go."
Mr Green dispelled the belief that white sharks hung out at the same beach.
"These are not resident animals, they are highly migratory; they don't stay at your local beach."
He related the adventures of a 3.6m juvenile white shark, which was born in Western Australia, swam to NSW, was tagged and released in 2016 made a return trip to the Gold Coast and WA twice, clocking up more than 50,000 kilometres.
"That's quite remarkable."
The SMART program will continue until June 30, 2022.
"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 as NSW," Mr Bromhead said.
"We have the most beautiful beaches in the world, and to make them as safe as possible for all to enjoy, we use a holistic approach utilising less invasive technologies."
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