The 35-year-old died at Little Bay,in Sydney’s east,where he was a regular swimmer. Authorities believe the shark involved was a great white at least three metres long.
After the incident,it emerged Shark-Management-Alert-in-Real-Time (SMART) drumlines – which allow authorities to safely catch,tag and release sharks – promised to Sydney councilshad not yet been delivered.
In the days after the incident,additional drumlines were sent to the city’s eastern beaches. At the time,NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saundersdenied there had been a delay in the program and promised all drumlines would be in place by the end of summer.
“The tragic event at Little Bay earlier this year was another reminder of the threat posed by sharks and the need to take steps to ensure we can coexist as safely as possible,” NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders said,announcing the new funding package on Saturday.
As part of the investment,NSW will install 60 new drumlines along the coast,as well as fund the tagging of 500 additional sharks and 10 more shark “listening stations”,which send an alert to the SharkSmart app when a shark is detected within a 500m radius.
A trial of long-range drone surveillance technology will see cameras provide statewide surveillance. Previously,the NSW government partnered with individual Surf Lifesaving clubs to use drones to watch for sharks.