Australia trials drone coastguards to monitor beaches
Surveillance drones will be used to monitor shark activity off West Australian beaches, according to the Australian fisheries minister. In a three-month trial costing AUD88,000 ($67,000), a drone fitted with a high-definition cameras will transmit images to be monitored by Surf Life Saving WA. The trial is part of the state government’s $33m "shark hazard mitigation strategy" and will begin in November. In the past six months, two people have died from shark attacks, and there have been 14 fatal incidents since 2000.

A three-month trial of drone surveillance will be used at West Australian beaches to monitor shark activity and potentially spot other dangers such as rips and schools of bait fish, which attract the predators.

Under the trial, $88,000 will be provided for a small drone equipped with a high-definition camera to stream live pictures back to Surf Life Saving WA operators at metropolitan and regional beaches.

The fisheries minister, Joe Francis, said the trial was part of the state government’s $33m shark hazard mitigation strategy.

“Drone technology has advanced significantly in recent years and it makes sense to test if it can be used effectively to make our beaches safer,” he said on Sunday.

“The trial will assess whether this eye in the sky technology can add value to the beach surveillance currently provided by helicopter and beach patrols.”

Francis said SLSWA would test the technology’s capability against environmental factors, such as weather conditions and beach geography, and would be flown at beach events such as surf carnivals.

The trial will run from November to January and Francis said any future funding would depend upon an evaluation of the trial results.

There have been 23 shark-related deaths in WA in the past 100 years, with 14 fatalities since 2000.

The most recent fatalities were 29-year-old surfer Ben Gerring, who was attacked at Falcon 80km south of Perth on 31 May, and 60-year-old university lecturer Doreen Ann Collyer, who was mauled while diving with a friend about one kilometre off Mindarie 40km north of Perth, on 5 June.

The state government’s shark strategy includes aerial and beach patrols, monitoring and tagging, beach enclosures, and research into deterrents and shark behaviour.

New South Wales trialled drones to track sharks in 2015 in an operation which also saw see hi-tech drum lines installed to allow sharks to be hooked, tagged and released further out to sea.