Drone technology could be the answer to shark detection

Until Saturday, few of those swimming between the flags at Coogee would have known of the beach’s dark, historic contribution to the water safety debate.

In the summer of 1922, two young men were taken in separate attacks off Coogee. The nation was gripped by terror. The government caught 26 sharks, posted a £50 reward for sharks caught in Coogee Bay, and built Australia’s first shark-proof fence.

One hundred and four years later, Saturday’s great white shark attack on Leah Stewart, who was swimming at her local beach, revisited history and breathed new life into the debate about NSW’s shark mitigation strategies.

The Coogee attack was the second in Sydney waters by a great white shark since September, when a surfer died off Long Reef on the northern beaches. In January, bull sharks killed a boy in Sydney Harbour and took the leg off a surfer at Manly.

Now Premier Chris Minns’ government is considering a cull of bull sharks. But he was politically astute enough to exempt great white sharks, the species blamed for Saturday’s Coogee attack, not least because they are protected. A local cull would be most ineffective against a migratory species that regularly swims across from New Zealand.

Shark culling is problematic and remains a deeply polarising debate in Australia, with some politicians and media, including former prime minister Tony Abbott, calling for the eradication of the apex predators. But scientists and conservationists strongly oppose culling, saying it is ineffective and damages marine ecosystems.

The Herald does not believe the Coogee attack provides a reason to start killing sharks. NSW has already experienced the benefits of a measured approach that did not involve mass slaughter.

A decade ago, great white and bull sharks were responsible for a spate of attacks involving some fatalities around Ballina on the north coast. The then-Coalition government invested heavily in mitigation technologies including tagged shark listening stations to alert local apps, drum lines and increased helicopter and drone patrols.

Various experts have warned that climate change is warming the water and expanding the range of various shark species, making their stays in NSW generally, and Sydney specifically, much longer and increasing the risk of encounters.

Amid heightened public fears about sharks after last summer’s Sydney attacks, the government moved into action, increasing surveillance and pausing a trial to remove nets at other Sydney beaches, although many of the measures are relaxed over winter. Coogee was left vulnerable because the Civil Aviation Safety Authority banned drones from monitoring the beach for sharks because it is in the path of commercial airlines.

A temporary exemption for lifesavers to fly drone patrols over Coogee was granted on Sunday in response to Saturday’s attack.

Sydney’s beaches are not only huge tourist attractions but important parts of our lives. Coogee is one of the jewels, popular with locals and visitors alike. A sensible and professionally flown early warning drone system must be permanently put in place to track sharks and avoid further tragedy.

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