NSW sharks: Drone surveillance at Bondi, Tamarama, Maroubra beaches to be beefed up
The sighting of a great white is the third in as many days, which comes as drone surveillance is beefed up.
After a spate of shark sightings and an attack, surveillance of beaches has been beefed up.
It comes as Bondi Beach enters its third day of being closed due to shark sightings.
From Thursday, drones will be operating at Bondi, Tamarama, and Maroubra beaches in Eastern Sydney.
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The timings have drawn some criticism, with some swimmers saying the hours do not reflect the patterns of many locals, who visit the beach after work.
The additional surveillance comes from an $86.6 million allocation in the state budget for its shark management program.
Sunrise reported that closed-door meetings within the government were held for much of yesterday to fast-track the drone roll-out in the wake of a series of shark sightings.
On Wednesday, premier Chris Minns said the large-scale monitoring would be “world-leading”.
“It might not be every beach; we just can’t cover it because there are hundreds of beaches across NSW,” he said, as reported by Sky News.
“But we think we can make a difference with this.”
Bondi Beach has been closed twice already this week due to shark sightings.
The shark alarm was sounded shortly before 7am on Wednesday morning after a great white shark was spotted at the northern end of the beach.
Lifeguards begin patrolling the beach at 7am but quickly jumped into action to protect those in the water.
It was spotted by a civilian operating a drone, who shared the footage online.
On Tuesday, the beach was closed around lunchtime after a shark was spotted near a group of salmon.
The social media user, who goes by @dronesharkapp spotted a great white on Thursday morning as well.
“It’s out there again,” he said in a video of the beach.
“Anyone see anyone go in on the beach, tell em to get out.”
It is believed to be the same great white spotted on all three days.
Yesterday, he suggested swimmers avoid the ocean in the early morning.
“I’m recommending to stay out of the water early (Thursday) around Bondi and Bronte, as you know that white shark has been there two days at the same time was was hanging around,” they shared with their followers.
These sightings come less than two weeks after 34-year-old Leah Stewart was mauled by a suspected great white at Coogee Beach.
She remains in critical care at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, where she has undergone several surgeries, including the amputation of her arm.
