DRUM lines and aerial drones are to be trialled on northern NSW beaches this summer in an attempt to protect ocean-goers from shark attacks according to a report from the ABC.
Minister for Primary Industries, Niall Blair announced the trial on Sunday and the first drones will be deployed in Coffs Harbour today.
The drum lines are connected via GPS to monitoring staff that are deployed once notified that a shark has been hooked. The monitoring vessel then comes to tag the shark and release it in a different area.
The GPS system means that these drum lines are different to those previously used in Queensland and Western Australia.
“They’re like a baited hook that has technology connected to it so when the bait is taken, a message is sent to our vessels and they’ll attend those lines immediately,” Mr Blair said.
“They will then tag and release the sharks that are caught on those. So they’re very different to the traditional drum lines which could have sharks sitting on them for days before they’re checked.
The first drum lines will be trialled in Ballina next week.
Update: See the video from the first drones launched this week.
