Thousands of beach goers are being urged to take precautions as authorities detected a worrying spike in shark activity across some of South Australia’s busiest beaches. Concern is so high, the state government has ordered patrols to start weeks early to prevent a potentially-fatal encounter.
The government said there was “an increase in shark activity”, which is historically unusual. But there’s a big difference to some other Australian states — they do not use shark nets.
Their approach is to use more aerial patrols, warning systems, and signage to keep beaches safe from white sharks, bronze whalers and tiger sharks that frequent the state’s 5,000km of coastline.
The shark behaviour mirrors activity in Sydney, where the animals are spending more time in the city’s famous harbour as climate change alters weather patters.
Humpback whales have also altered their migration dates as they travel up Australia’s east coast from Antarctica.
South Australia’s horror algae bloom that killed an estimated 80,000 marine mammals and left surfers sick has shifted away from metropolitan beaches this week. This will likely be temporary.
But with the school holidays less than a month away, beachgoers are expected to return in increased numbers.
Rhiannon Pearce, the SA’s minister for emergency services, said because sharks are arriving earlier in the season, these patrols will now begin at high-risk beaches in mid-November rather than early December.
“Aerial surveillance is an important measure to help keep beachgoers safe, providing eyes in the sky to detect potential danger below,” she said.
White sharks are one of the most commonly seen sharks in South Australian waters. Source: Getty (File)
“Having eyes in the sky is one way to protect beachgoers who will be making the most of warmer conditions heading into summer.”
Shark patrols generally stop at the end of school holidays in April, but the SA government extended the safety watch into May this year as unseasonably high temperatures resulted in “increased aquatic activity along populated coastlines”.
The Deputy Chief Officer of the SES, Darryl Wright, reminded swimmers that sharks are “part of the natural environment” and to leave the water if they spot one.
Regular patrols will occur at metropolitan and Fleurieu Peninsula beaches until late April in 2025.
Using light aircraft, trained spotters will monitor popular beaches and advise police if sharks are detected.
During the last season, there were 450 flights, and aircraft clocked up more than 1,200 hours in the sky.
The shark siren was activated 90 times in that time, indicating there were people in the water.
No shark nets in SA
South Australia introduced a new fishing ban to protect critically endangered shark and ray species in December last year.
The move was to better protect vulnerable marine life facing declining numbers due to overfishing and habitat destruction.
They do not have shark nets, which have been to blame for hundreds of marine life deaths on Australia’s east coast in Queensland and New South Wales.
Whales, dolphins, dugongs, turtles and manta rays are among the “non-targeted” species snared in nets or hooked on drum lines.
Photographer Geoff Aquino captured the “confronting” moment a whale and her calf were entangled on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, prompting further calls to remove nets from Australian beaches. Source: Instagram/GeoffAquino
Several NSW councils were in talks to trial removing nets, however it was put on hold after the death of 57-year-old Mercury Psillakis at Long Reef Beach in September.
The Queensland DPI said shark nets are “designed to catch sharks that pass through the area”.
But a report evaluating Queensland’s shark control program released earlier this year revealed an increasing number of non-target species are being killed.
The KPMG report prepared for the Queensland government stressed that while “traditional measures” are still required, it should transition away from “environmentally harmful” practices like drumlines and mesh nets.
However, Queensland Government’s 2025-2029 shark program includes the expanded use of these control measures, and it ruled out the removal of nets during key whale migration periods over winter, with human safety coming before all else.
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