NSW boosts beach safety with expanded shark drone patrols
New statewide measures coincide with an alert keeping swimmers out of the water at Lennox Head earlier this morning.
The NSW Government is expanding shark drone patrols and community safety programs this summer.
The upgraded coastal shark safety measures includes an extra $2.5 million to extend drone patrols, increase community training and enhance public awareness programs ahead of the peak summer period.
The announcement came as shark alerts kept swimmers out of the water at Byron Bay yesterday and earlier this morning at Lennox head.
Surf monitoring service Dorsal – Northern NSW Shark Reports logged a shark sighting off Seven Mile Beach 6.04am (main image above).
Under the enhanced package, Surf Life Saving NSW drone patrols will begin one week earlier than scheduled, starting December 13, and will continue through to March 29, 2026.
Thirty-two beaches will commence earlier patrols next weekend, expanding to 50 beaches by December 20.
Daily drone flights will operate across the summer holiday period.
The state government will also fund drones and accredited drone-pilot training for Surfing NSW boardrider clubs, improving coverage at times and in places where lifesavers are not present.
Community Shark Bite Kits will be tripled, increasing trauma-response capability at remote or unpatrolled beaches.
A strengthened public education campaign will run throughout summer, including SharkSmart pop-up sessions, QR-coded beach signage and updates to the SharkSmart app to improve access to real-time information.
Surf Life Saving NSW CEOSteve Pearce welcomed the added protection measures.
““Last summer alone, 50 Surf Life Saving NSW drones flying from Tweed to Bega completed 18027flights over 4897 flying hours. During that time 815 sharks were sighted including 41 bull sharks, 45 white sharks and 729 unknown sharks.
“Our lifeguards and lifesavers enacted 115 countermeasures including 88 beach evacuations plus other countermeasures including beach sirens, he said.
Local updates can be monitored via the Dorsal and SharkSmart apps.
