AERIAL SHARK SURVEILLANCE TO BE CONDUCTED YEAR-ROUND

Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair, has announced aerial shark surveillance along the NSW coast will be conducted year-round for the next 12 months, as part of the NSW Government’s $16 million Shark Management Strategy.

“Over the last year we have ramped up aerial surveillance to detect sharks and protect beachgoers from Eden to Tweed – we know it can be effective and we will now have eyes in the sky 12 months of the year,” Mr Blair said.

“We have some of the best beaches in the world and it doesn’t have to be the middle of summer to attract people to the beach, which is why we are determined to make sure we put in measures to give people extra confidence when hitting the water.”

Aerial surveillance will take place on selected weekdays, weekends, school holidays and public holidays over the next 12 months, until April, 2017. Aerial surveillance is just one component of the NSW Government’s $16 million Shark Management Strategy.

Region 1: Point Danger, Tweed Heads to South Ballina:

*One flight a day, every day of every NSW & Queensland school holiday

*One flight every Saturday & Sunday from 30 April 2016 – 25 April 2017.

Region 2: Wooli to South Sawtell

Region 3: Nambucca Heads to Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie

Region 4: Crowdy Head to Birubi

*One flight a day, every day of every NSW school holiday.

Region 5: South Wollongong to Moruya

Region 6: Bega River to Boyd Tower, Twofold Bay

*One flight a day, every day of the summer and autumn NSW school holidays.

Surveillance takes place between Stockton to Wollongong as part of the Shark Meshing Program. It has weekday and weekend flights from December to April each year. Until April 2017, additional surveillance will also take place during school holidays and weekends.