New South Wales to spend 5

New South Wales (NSW) is planning on spending $5.5 million on shark-spotting drones and other equipment to protect beachgoers from sharks and other animals. The Australian state plans to have a fleet of drones patrolling the coastline.

The drones and drumlines

The New South Wales government will be using a fleet of drones to continuously monitor the coastline and act as an early shark detection system that will allow beachgoers to be removed from the water earlier than before. The drones will be deployed at 34 beaches known to have a large shark presence and will be flown by Surf Life Saving NSW drone pilots. The drones will be used to automatically detect the size and species of a shark and aid swimmers in distress.

Minister for Agriculture in the New South Wales government, Adam Marshall had the following to share on the use of drones and drumlines to manage the sharks.

“As a government, our number one priority is keeping people at our beaches safe and that’s why we’re rolling out a revamped strategy to reduce the risk of shark attacks. Our world-leading research showed SMART drumlines and drones are the most effective detection and surveillance tools.”

He later shares that the drones and drumlines will be used with 21 shark detection stations and currently there is shark meshing installed at 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong.

Sharks and drones

Drones are being used by Australian lifeguards to monitor and track sharks swimming in and around popular beaches. The drone known as the Little Ripper uses AI to detect sharks, alerting lifeguards, emergency services, and swimmers. The shark-spotting drone has a 90% accuracy rate, while current manned aircraft have accuracy rates of around 20%, making drones an obvious choice.

It’s not the first time a drone has spotted a shark, and it is becoming apparent that drones will likely be added to the arsenal of lifeguards around the world to make the oceans safer.

Photo: NSW government

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