In-water sonar technology that warns when a shark is nearby and new “shark listening” devices will be enlisted by the New South Wales government to try to combat shark attacks this summer.

A five-year $16m program has been announced by the minister for primary industries, Niall Blair, in a year when there have been 13 attacks on the north coast of the state alone and one fatality. Last year there were three attacks in the same area.

The money will be spent on new technologies such as “Clever Buoys”, which use sonar technology to detect sharks, and increased helicopter surveillance in certain areas. Eco-friendly nets which have been developed to protect other marine life will also be rolled out.

The SharkSmart app will be updated so people can receive real-time warnings on their smartphones and tablets when sharks are spotted in the area.

The Ballina mayor, David Wright, who heads the council that takes in many of the beaches where the shark attacks have taken place, has welcomed the news, saying intense lobbying from the area had paid off.

He is yet to be briefed directly by the government but said he had texted the NSW premier, Mike Baird, on Sunday morning to thank him.

“That’s what we’ve been asking for and I think it’s fantastic, to be honest, the government has had been very good, we’ve had [scientists] up here for a while,” he said.

“It looks like now they’ve listened to us … I can’t believe all this hasn’t been done before but having attacks this year has made people more aware.”

Wright specifically requested environmentally friendly shark nets and increased aerial surveillance. He said the council was still hoping for extra funding for the jet boat services it sends out when a shark is spotted.

The boat is used to quickly help people out of the water as well as to track the shark and to try to get it out of the area.

Wright said it had been called out four times last year after shark sightings and this year had been called out 54 times. “Police believe we’ve saved lots of injuries and lives because of that and I think they’re going to adopt a similar thing in other places,” he said.

As part of the government’s strategy 20 “shark listening stations” will be installed at various beaches. Ten of those will be between Tweed Heads on the far north coast and Forster, with the rest to be decided in consultation with the communities. The listening stations will provide real-time tracking data on tagged sharks.

There will be six eco-friendly shark nets installed in total, with two of those to be on the north coast.

The total cost of the technology trials and surveillance will be $7.7m and $7m will be invested in shark science and research.



“After considering the advice from experts attending a recent summit in Sydney and consulting with communities including the north coast, we will take a multi-faceted approach to the issue of detecting and deterring sharks,” the primary industries minister said.

“What’s more, we are proud to be the first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to adopt an integrated approach toward keeping our beaches safe.”

The strategy comes a month after the NSW government held a “shark summit” to brainstorm the best ways to combat attacks. At the meeting marine biologists and scientists warned shark deterrents should not be put in the ocean just to placate people’s fears, and no technology was ever going to be 100% effective.