The rollout of 15 SMART (Shark Management Alert In Real Time) drumlines will start next week in the waters off Kiama, as part of a NSW Government program to help make local beaches safer by intercepting sharks that come close to shore.

The SMART drumlines will span along our coast, with three off Jones Beach, three off Bombo Beach, one off each of Surf, Kendalls and East beaches, and six off Werri Beach. Tagged animals will be monitored through Shark Listening Station (a yellow buoy) that was installed at Surf Beach in 2016. No mention has been made of installing listening devises at other local beaches.

“SMART drumlines are a better alternative to lethal strategies of shark mitigation,” says Dr Kye Adams, a Kiama marine scientist currently living in Western Australia. He conducted his PhD research with the Project Airship shark blimp, which was used for shark surveillance over Surf Beach.

“The SMART drumlines are non-lethal and there is only a small risk of marine animals being harmed. In terms of the old alternative of lethally killing sharks in drumlines or nets it’s a much more sustainable approach.”

The drumlines consist of an anchor, two buoys and a satellite-linked GPS communications unit attached to a hook baited with a sea mullet. When an animal takes the bait, an alert is sent to a team at the Department of Primary Industries which responds within 30 minutes to tag and release the shark or other marine animal.

“The idea is to catch and tag as many sharks as possible and then rely on those tagged sharks to set off early detection systems so the public can make informed decisions to enter the water,” says Dr Adams.

“Tagging lots of sharks also feeds into research to predict where shark activity might be highest.

“One criticism of the program is the need to deploy bait on these devices, as it potentially has the chance of bringing sharks into that location to catch them.

“People have to come to terms with whether they are comfortable with having bait in the water, but there is only one fish at a time and there’s fishing happening on pretty much every headland using bait and burley so it is already out there.”

Great Whites, Bull and Tiger sharks are the targeted species. Once caught, they are tagged and relocated approximately one kilometre offshore. The tag allows data to be collected about the sharks and their seasonal pattern of movements.

It is thought the drumlines are effective in removing some of the immediate risk to beach users as the caught sharks are moved offshore for a period of time.

“There’s a bit of research to suggest that once the sharks are caught and tagged, following the release they will continue swimming offshore because being caught and handled is a stressful situation for them,” says Dr Adams.

“They are most likely in flight mode and want to get out of there while they recover.”

The listening station off Surf Beach

While Dr Adams believes the SMART drumlines are a good approach to mitigating sharks attacks, other forms of mitigation like surveillance and education are just as important.

“It’s a layered approach and you need to do surveillance, tagging programs and educate the public, which all will lead to fewer interactions,” he says.

The new drumlines are part of the NSW Government’s $21.4 million 2021-22 Shark Management Program. It will be the first time that drumlines have been used in the our region since the NSW Dept of Primary Industries trial in 2017-2018.

“The additional SMART drumlines are part of an increased surveillance and detection package to protect beachgoers including tagged shark listening stations, drones and shark nets,” says Gareth Ward MP.

“We can never 100 per cent guarantee that shark interactions won’t happen – but this is about aiming to get the balance right, between keeping swimmers and surfers safe – and protecting our marine life.”

For more information on the NSW 2021-2022 Shark Management Program or the SharkSmart app, visit: www.sharksmart.nsw.gov.au