Ali Be

The release of Queensland’s drone trial report last year marks a turning point in the shark safety debate. The report provides clear evidence that drones are a priceless beach safety tool, not only excelling at spotting sharks, but also beachgoers in distress. The raw data behind the report however also gave us new damning evidence regarding the lack of effectiveness of shark nets. We can now finally move beyond speculation, and examine verifiable evidence regarding the efficacy, or lack...

For decades, the New South Wales and Queensland Governments have run lethal shark-control programs under the banner of ‘beachgoer safety’, despite clear evidence that culling does nothing to reduce shark-bite risk . The continuation of these programs is seemingly only to protect politicians from media backlash, not to protect beachgoers from sharks. Thousands of animals are killed annually, and millions of people given a false sense of security, for the political comfort of a handful of...

The recently published Queensland SharkSmart drone trial report confirms what the science behind shark interaction mitigation has long asserted : non-lethal aerial surveillance (drones) are substantially more effective at spotting sharks than catch-and-kill equipment such as shark nets and drumlines. During the trial, conducted under the Queensland Government’s Shark Control Program (SCP), drones recorded 676 shark-sighting events, compared to just 284 sharks caught in adjacent SCP gear...