Hi all,
I'm more a sailor than surfer, but I couldn't help being amazed at the new measures the NSW government is taking with respect to shark surveillance, tagging and guys out in inflatables looking for sharks in the water.
Hasn't any of the decision makers considered drones with live video feeds?
Seems a no-brainer to me.
Very cheap (compared to the proposed action), very effective.
I for one would feel very reassured knowing someone is looking at a real time aerial view of where I am in the water.
Thoughts anyone?

Already been done. Byron shire been doing it around here, for the bay, whilst Ballina is using the local aero helicopter. The problems are short range, battery life, water clarity and depth combined with surface chop, wind, weather, monitoring, the fact that one could swim in just after its sweep. Whilst it maybe ok for 1 small beach or bay in perfect conditions, it's more a publicity exercise.
As for the results, the more they look, the more they see. The helicopter averages 10+ white pointers along Ballina to byron in the past few months. There are consistently 2 around 5m and multiple others around 3m. Officially there have been around 12 shark events in 2015 here, plus multiple closures after sightings only. That is only the tip of it. eg my mate was bumped with board damage out front of my place 4 days ago and made no official reports. The sharks themselves rarely surface swim to show their fins, but are breaching. These breaching events are often seen by local surfers and rarely reported. Hopefully the upcoming northerly wind season will get rid of the bait, the whales will do their thing and they will move on. (until next year). Attacks here have ranged from November to now (August)

Imagine if the drone had a tethered power source and some form of infrared camera so that water visibility wouldn't matter. That would actually be cheaper and I know if I was surfing northern NSW right now I'd love to have something watching over the top of my break.

How would an infra red camera work?

Wouldn't Dolphins, whales look the same as the man in the grey suit?

Yeah they probably would and I have no idea whether it would work... I just think that a decent drone and operator would probably cost significantly less than a helicopter.

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SP said..
How would an infra red camera work?

Wouldn't Dolphins, whales look the same as the man in the grey suit?

For WA it was explained to me that a Multi Spectral Camera would be best as it can see down to ten meters. BUT needed to be on a fixed wing plan due to stability.
That can be hooked directly to a computer program that will detect sharks guarantied to eight meters of depth.

From memory they did say drones due to different environmental conditions would work in the East though, especially around bays and head lands.

I dont understand the difference, but they are used in QLD to search for Fire ant nests and in California for things like Dugong surveys and that type of stuff, all computer managed.

Yeah Ive mentioned drones before and my idea would be to have them on a pre programmed flight path up and down the designated beach returning to power source for recharging when needed, with feed going back to lifesavers or beach inspectors on patrol,all they have to do is monitor the feed.just an idea and not sure about its use if water is murky,at least the alternatives to whats out there,which seems to be SFA,are being thrown around

Well thought out Ricardo.

Saw this idea on TV the other week..

Seems like a good idea..
www.smartmarinesystems.com

Basically it is a buoy with Sonar that detects them and can identify what it is.

For mine something like surfsafe that is changeable between boards is the best answer.

Maybe bromwin bishop can get us a discount on the chopper.

Halve the number of mature GWS, (3m+) halve the risk. Surely it's that simple.

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SP said..
Well thought out Ricardo.

Saw this idea on TV the other week..

Seems like a good idea..
www.smartmarinesystems.com

Basically it is a buoy with Sonar that detects them and can identify what it is.

For mine something like surfsafe that is changeable between boards is the best answer.

Yeah surf safe would be great as an interchangeable unit or just have it installed into a good all rounder ,I haven't looked at any videos of them being tested which Im going to do,as some of the beaches I surf when I head up the coast there is no-one around for miles,but for popular beaches I reckon drones are the go,checked out the sonar bouys good to see some great ideas coming forth instead of the tiresome cull or no cull argument

the only thing that may be close to 100% would be the shark shield etc, which sales are going to sky rocket, but would love to see how it goes against a big (5m) white that is a little more than curious, drones etc are a great idea but the only thing which is the same with boats/jet skis etc is that it might go past and then a shark swims through a minute later, the optus bouy would work well if yo had a bay etc, have seen it on bondi rescue and it looks good, not to sure on how close a shark had to swim but it looked pretty close, culling would be a feasible option if most of the big great whites didn't migrate,

overall there will always be sharks in the ocean but it just sucks that it is becoming such a big issue in these areas that people are talking about not surfing or are hesitant in doing so, there has always been sharks in this area i believe due to being most easterly point and also alot of marine parks, there will be no one easy solution, it will probably be a mixture of everything mentioned and no short term solution

Jarryd

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Jradedmondo said..
the only thing that may be close to 100% would be the shark shield etc, which sales are going to sky rocket, but would love to see how it goes against a big (5m) white that is a little more than curious, drones etc are a great idea but the only thing which is the same with boats/jet skis etc is that it might go past and then a shark swims through a minute later, the optus bouy would work well if yo had a bay etc, have seen it on bondi rescue and it looks good, not to sure on how close a shark had to swim but it looked pretty close, culling would be a feasible option if most of the big great whites didn't migrate,

overall there will always be sharks in the ocean but it just sucks that it is becoming such a big issue in these areas that people are talking about not surfing or are hesitant in doing so, there has always been sharks in this area i believe due to being most easterly point and also alot of marine parks, there will be no one easy solution, it will probably be a mixture of everything mentioned and no short term solution

Jarryd

This article has some interesting stuff regarding water temps comparing WA last few years to NSW this year and on.

theconversation.com/the-good-news-el-nino-story-for-western-australias-oceans-41744

Then this report from the BRW. Great work again Dave and Mandy
http://www.brw.com.au/p/entrepreneurs/john_hancock_takes_his_chances_but_wcHR2L1ECgHzAICISI8qfJ

Please excuse my ignorance but if the water is warmer close to the shore we get more sharks? So what the article says we should have less sharks along the west coast this year?

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beastsurf said..
Please excuse my ignorance but if the water is warmer close to the shore we get more sharks? So what the article says we should have less sharks along the west coast this year?

Yeah thats my understanding. Although it was explained to me more like we will still have the sharks, but the food/other fish that are also here due to warmer waters are different. IE different species and also different behaviours, as in speed sluggishness. So that somehow is linked to the spike in attacks. (Its a theory i think) One guy pointed out the difference in large Salmon runs also.

I believe the conditions are the same in Ballina region to what we had in the years of spike in attacks.

I thought Great Whites were cold water animals, but i recently learnt they can actually control their own body temp very effectively between 23 and 27 degrees. The regions they visit are more to do with food sources and their ability to like colder waters. IE blubbery seals.

Just sharing an observation/explanation thats all..

Shark attack at Lighthouse Beach Port Macquarie about an hour & half ago,38 year old bodyboarder,he's in a serious condition!..

Well for all this scientific research and hypothesising heres my hypothesis,the vast majority of waters have been overfished to the max,great whites have been a protected species for years so their numbers are way up,this equals lots of big great white sharks and not much natural food for them,do the frikken maths,its not rocket science,whales have migrated but the Great whites are still hanging around,water temp pffftt yeah right,either cull a few or come up with a detection and warning system that works and you know what, the way will be paved by individuals like katana who give a **** rather than government bodies that don't want to spend coin on a something that isn't a priority to them

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Ricardo1709 said..
Well for all this scientific research and hypothesising heres my hypothesis,the vast majority of waters have been overfished to the max,great whites have been a protected species for years so their numbers are way up,this equals lots of big great white sharks and not much natural food for them,do the frikken maths,its not rocket science,whales have migrated but the Great whites are still hanging around,water temp pffftt yeah right,either cull a few or come up with a detection and warning system that works and you know what, the way will be paved by individuals like katana who give a **** rather than government bodies that don't want to spend coin on a something that isn't a priority to them

Nailed it

News flash, NSW and Qld both cull sharks. Between the two they have resonable coverage up and down the coast. They have been doing so since the 50's and yet attacks have spiked.

Your right it's not rocket science, it's obviously not working

Yes it does work,Qld no attacks recently as they are removing whites near shore.nth NSW are not doing anything and look what is happening,its out of control.its not rocket science.stop sprouting ya bull****

ill add my 20c worth

add in a farming industry of seals on the WA south coast and a whaling industry with limited catches
not sure if the products from these have a market?
but it will reduce the food supply to large GWS's
then add in a shark fishing industry with limited tonnage

a balance of the food chain would need to be done,

flame suit on

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beastsurf said..
Please excuse my ignorance but if the water is warmer close to the shore we get more sharks? So what the article says we should have less sharks along the west coast this year?

Another report linking warmer water (El Nino) to attacks and sharks. The time in The USA..
The good news is I'm told our water temps are back to normal this year..

http://www.ksby.com/story/29927887/el-nino-partly-to-blame-for-increase-in-shark-sightings

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jbshack said..
News flash, NSW and Qld both cull sharks. Between the two they have resonable coverage up and down the coast. They have been doing so since the 50's and yet attacks have spiked.

Your right it's not rocket science, it's obviously not working

the sad thing is that you believe your misguided thoughts....keep them as voices in your head,keep them from the public........please

please come up with a map with where the nets are,then a map where the attacks have occurred....then my above statement will make sense

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chrispy said...

jbshack said..
News flash, NSW and Qld both cull sharks. Between the two they have resonable coverage up and down the coast. They have been doing so since the 50's and yet attacks have spiked.

Your right it's not rocket science, it's obviously not working

the sad thing is that you believe your misguided thoughts....keep them as voices in your head,keep them from the public........please

please come up with a map with where the nets are,then a map where the attacks have occurred....then my above statement will make sense

all i noticed in that jb was that that is scraping the bottom of the barrel. puncture marks,you can get puncture marks from walking on a stick......stepped on a wobbygong hahahaha...

their tag line is the winner though "non lethal options and education are the way forward to keep bathers safe" really...how is that the case?

bathers,is this from a american do gooder site?

you are a funny bugger jb


oh where is the qld and the rest if nsw...once again show me some maps that correlate all your statements

How about catch sharks for the doll With any luck we might even cull a few doll bludgers too Sounds like a Win/Win

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chrispy said..

jbshack said..
News flash, NSW and Qld both cull sharks. Between the two they have resonable coverage up and down the coast. They have been doing so since the 50's and yet attacks have spiked.

Your right it's not rocket science, it's obviously not working

the sad thing is that you believe your misguided thoughts....keep them as voices in your head,keep them from the public........please

please come up with a map with where the nets are,then a map where the attacks have occurred....then my above statement will make sense

if most people knew how big the nets actually where and how often they are there in most areas they would never go in the water if they where that scared of sharks, they are only there to interrupt regular swimming patterns

Jarryd

All this talk about shark monitoring, tagging, netting amounts to pronounced tunnel vision. Compared to the likely effects of global warming, the presence or absence of whatever remaining/declining/growing number of large carnivorous sharks is negligible. If they are a problem, kill them where ever and whenever and be done with it, as there are vastly more relevant environmental issues.

greenie

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jbshack said...

chrispy said...

jbshack said..
News flash, NSW and Qld both cull sharks. Between the two they have resonable coverage up and down the coast. They have been doing so since the 50's and yet attacks have spiked.

Your right it's not rocket science, it's obviously not working

the sad thing is that you believe your misguided thoughts....keep them as voices in your head,keep them from the public........please

please come up with a map with where the nets are,then a map where the attacks have occurred....then my above statement will make sense

What about beaches with no nets?

Is there more / worse attacks?

Anyone considered sharks are not as endangered as they were once claimed to be.....obviously time to lift their protection & start up shark fishing tourism around Australia & ban cage diving globally.