Source : Perth Now news
Before last summer, Australians often perceived shark predation as an out-of-sight, out-of-mind risk endemic to remote communities.
Then came the string of attacks, two of them fatal, at beaches off the nation’s most populous coastline.
The most recent involved young Sydney mum Leah Stewart, who barely escaped with her life after being bitten at Coogee in June.
If it wasn’t already the case, the assault slammed home the danger lurking in waters where there had once been little need to worry.
Less than a year earlier, 57-year-old surfer Mercury Psillakis was killed in an attack at Dee Why, on the city’s northern peninsula.
So began a summer where the risk seemingly posed to five million Sydneysiders was splashed across websites and evening news bulletins.
In response, the NSW government launched a $120 million world-leading shark mitigation program, which would be rolled out over two years and feature near constant daylight monitoring of Sydney beaches.
It also includes two new listening stations tracking tagged sharks in the harbour for the first time, and smart drum lines to bait and release potential problem animals.
The government also shelved its own environmental concerns to install 51 traditional mesh nets at beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong.
Expanding drone monitoring has been broadly welcomed, including by Mr Psillakis’ brother Mike who says the technology could be truly lifesaving.
“I believe that if there was a drone on the days my brother and Leah were attacked, my brother would be with me and Leah wouldn’t have those injuries,” he tells AAP.
Forced to fend off the four-metre great white with a flurry of punches, 35-year-old Ms Stewart underwent a series of operations, including the amputation of her left arm.
The drones are not without room for error, however, with operators required to manually observe a screen and make decisions on when to evacuate beaches.
Marcel Green, who runs the NSW Department of Primary Industries shark program says it is a matter of when, not if a serious attack occurs while a drone is in the air.
On January 19, a young male surfer at Dee Why beach – the same beach where Mr Psillakis was fatally attacked – had his board bitten through by a shark while a drone was monitoring the area.
“The young fella, I think he saw the shark and then got bumped off his board by it, and then that shark bit his surfboard,” Mr Green says.
“On that day we we had a drone operating … probably 500-600 metres away.”
The incident happened the same day 25 year-old Andre de Ruyter lost a leg after being bitten while swimming at North Steyne Beach in Manly and a day after 12 year-old Nico Antic was fatally mauled off Shark Beach at Vaucluse.
University of Sydney shark attack policy expert Chris Pepin-Neff has been vocal about the risks and why the upcoming summer could be one of the worst.
“There is no shark-proofing Australia,” they says.
With the continent newly in an El Niño weather pattern, the heat is one factor potentially exacerbating the issue, with notoriously aggressive bull sharks preferring the warmer waters.
Warmer weather means more swimmers in play and more bull sharks entering the Harbour.
“We need to be well and truly braced with our expectations because I believe the year is going to bring more human shark interactions,” Prof Pepin-Neff says.
“We have to treat the beach like the bush.
“You can have the best surf lifesavers in the world and the best technology in the world, and the wild is still the wild.”
With sharks constantly tracking up and down the coast, authorities will have to balance safety with evacuating beaches in what is shaping up to be a scorching summer.
Drone operators first and foremost are reminded they are not expected to offer a hundred per cent protection, with murky waters one of the factors beyond their control.
“We’re always driving home the message that you know even if the worst thing does happen, this isn’t your fault,” Mr Green says.
“You’re here trying to provide a community service and prevent something that some people say is inevitable anyway.”
Mike Psillakis is saddened by the impact his brother’s death has had on their local surfing community, with some thinking twice before paddling out and many parents concerned about their children.
“I say to them that the ocean has never been safer with the drones operating and yet still they’re rattled,” he says.
“We’re a surfing nation, we love the beach and our coastlines are some of the nicest in the world.
“It’s pretty sad actually.”
