The NSW State government’s shark summit to be held at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on Tuesday will review a short list of shark repellent technologies in an effort to halt a wave of recent attacks.
Over 70 shark experts from Australia and around the world will be in attendance, including delegates from South Africa and Hawaii.
“Making our beaches safer is a top priority for the NSW government; that’s why we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure we look at new and innovative ways to protect our beaches,” said Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair in a statement.
There have been 13 shark attacks in NSW so far this year, up from three in 2014. In February 41-year-old surfer Tadashi Nakahara was killed surfing Shelly Beach in Ballina. In July, 32-year-old Matthew Lee was attacked while bodyboarding at nearby Lighthouse Beach while three weeks later 52 year-old surfer Craig Ison was attacked suffering injuries to his hands and leg while surfing Evans Head 40 kilometres south of Ballina.
The technologies up for consideration include:
- Electric deterrent barriers – Aquatek technology
- Physical and visual barriers – Eco Shark barriers, Bionic barriers and Aquarius barriers
- Sonar technologies – Cleverbuoy detection
- Satellite and acoustic technology – Tagging and real time tracking of tagged sharks
Yesterday The Northern Star took a closer look at what some of these technologies are and what they do.
Electric deterrent barriers - Aquatek technology
Aquatek Technology is a French company that produces a range of products for repelling sharks, rays, and jellyfish, along with anti-pollution booms and provides commercial divers for underwater work.
It’s shark repellent system, which it calls the Repel Sharks System, is essentially a series of floating posts that put out an electro-magnetic field sharks find unpleasant and veer away from.
Aquatek says the system has been through four years of testing. It is coupled with an identification system, based off fish finder technology, that allows the user to select particular species, such as great whites, bull sharks, and tiger sharks. If one of these animals strays too close, it is identified and the field turned on. Aquatek says the system can also be used to repel jellyfish, which may appeal in areas affected by box jellyfish and irukandji in Queensland.
Aquatek says its system is also capable of supporting nets, which could be deployed when a shark is detected, ensuring it doesn’t flee in the wrong direction when escaping the electro-magnetic field.
Physical and visual barriers- Eco Shark Barriers, Bionic Barriers and Aquarius Barriers
These are essentially shark nets, but move beyond the turtle and dolphin-killing models that have been traditionally used in Australian waters.
The Eco Shark Barrier is a semi-rigid plastic modular “net” designed to act as a wall to sharks (and any other large marine animal) without the danger of entanglement.
The Bionic Barrier, developed by Western Australian company Global Marine Enclosures, follows a similar concept.
“The Bionic Barrier is not a net: the Bionic Barrier is a solid nylon barrier structure that doesn’t entangle marine species,” the company says on its website.
Sonar technologies- Clever Buoy
This is something being developed by telco giant Optus.
The idea is to have sonars hanging from a series of floating buoys that can detect an approaching shark and automatically send an alert to a satellite, which bounces the warning to life guards, who can then clear the beach. The alerts are also sent out on the Google+ network to “relevant audiences”
Satellite and acoustic technology– tagging and real time tracking of tagged sharks
No specific company has been listed with this technology. There is currently a project underway by the CSIRO and NSW Department of Primary Industries to tag great white sharks in North Coast waters. However, those sharks are not being tracked in real time.
Watch: The Fatal Coast a Tracks Magazine special investigation.
Tell us what shark repellent technologies you’d like to see the Blair government adopt.