Qld Shark-Monitoring Drone Trial

Mapping the GPS coordinates of sharks spotted by surveillance drones has reinforced what experts already knew: nets and drum lines don’t create shark-free beaches.

Coordinates of sightings during the Queensland government’s four-year Shark Smart Drone Trial were obtained by a conservation group under right to information laws.

Andre Borell from The Envoy Foundation said the data showed a large number of shark sightings were still on the beach-side, or the “inside” of nets and drum lines.

Mesh nets and drum lines are used to control sharks across Queensland.

They have always been controversial because of the indiscriminate way in which they kill.

Whales, turtles, dugongs and harmless species of shark can easily become entangled or ensnared in them.

The drone trial took place between 2020 and 2024 along 10 of the state’s most popular beaches.

The drones flew every half hour between 7am to midday on weekends, public holidays and school holiday weekdays.

Over that time, there were 676 “shark sighting events”, with nearly 5,000 individual sharks spotted, though many were either small or members of non-target species.

Read the full ABC News story:Qld Shark Monitoring Drone Trail

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