Four great white sharks have been tracked travelling close to some of New South Wales’ most popular surf beaches, after the state government launched its $16 million Shark Management Strategy to try to combat the number of attacks on surfers and swimmers.
A female white shark measuring almost three metres long travelled more than 300km in just one week, data from the new monitoring technology showed.
She was last tracked at Nambucca Heads after travelling 309km down to South West Rocks.
Scientists say the shark is likely on the hunt for food or a partner, as it moves up and down the coast.
Another female and two male sharks measuring between 2.35m and 2.8m remained relatively close to where they were tagged, completing journeys of 37km, 55km and 27km respectively.
The sharks were tagged by the NSW Department of Primary Industries, in the first successful use of satellite and acoustic tags.
Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair said the new data was promising and would help in implementing better strategies to reduce the risk of shark attacks.
“It is this type of information we have been so keen to get our hands on,” Mr Blair told The Daily Telegraph.
“The more information we have about how these sharks are moving, the better we can tailor how we reduce the risk of shark attacks.
“We are investigating in a range of measures to reduce the risk of shark attacks in NSW – because there is not one solution,” Mr Blair said.
All four sharks were tagged and then released off Evans Head, on the NSW far north coast, after they were hooked on drum lines off the beaches.
They are tracked through VR4G listening stations which are positioned along the coast. Their locations are then automatically broadcast on the DPI Twitter account, @NSWSharkSmart and SharkSmart app when they are detected.
