NSW shark monitoring overhaul brings more drones, shark nets
Remarkable footage captured by 13 of the apex predators off the coast of NSW has given incredible insight into how they behave, as the state government announces new safety measures
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Great white sharks fitted with cameras are revealing their cruising and eating habits off the New South Wales coast, as the state government deploys more nets and drone patrols.
In one of the most comprehensive studies of the predator* using mounted cameras, researchers have fitted 13 great whites with GoPro-style devices.
The cameras, which stay attached for four to seven days before self-removing and floating to the surface, have captured stunning footage revealing great whites are “picky eaters”, spending most of the time cruising the sandy seabed before surging towards prey.
The extraordinary vision shows the sharks are not mindless eaters attacking everything in sight, but are “visually assessing” prey before deciding whether to attack.
The footage reinforces that sharks are incredibly curious, with one shown circling scattered fish bones for 14 minutes and another circling a rarely-seen oarfish three times before moving on.
The mounted cameras study is by Southern Cross PhD candidate and marine biologist* Adrienne Gooden in conjunction with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). The joint project has collected 68.5 hours of footage.
The cameras and speed-measuring accelerometers have been attached to the dorsal* fins of 13 sharks of just under three metres in size, considered juveniles.
Footage so far shows the majority spent most of their time swimming along the sea floor, followed by the sea surface, with the least amount of time spent in between.
As for preferred habits, the footage revealed the sharks enjoy cruising along a sandy seabed with hardly any time spent near reefs or seaweed.
It also captured the sharks in 20 separate “burst” events surging towards prey, including a marlin, a moray eel, an octopus and a dolphin. None were attacked.
Great whites are known for vertical chase and ambush* predations*, but most of the younger sharks in this study were in horizontal pursuit, suggesting they had different hunting strategies to the larger white sharks.
The study captured 85 encounters with prey but no predatory strikes.
Two sharks made vertical ascents of up to 74m to investigate potential prey, but the exact sensory cues that prompted the behaviour remain unclear, suggesting further research is needed.
Circling the oarfish without attack also suggested sharks make a visual assessment of their prey before deciding if it’s worth the effort to strike.
Ms Gooden, who co-authored the study as part of her PhD, said the rare pursuits of prey were surprising, suggesting sharks might be “picky” eaters.
“They are potentially more picky, more selective,” she said.
“One of the key findings was they preferred pretty non-complex sandy habits. We didn’t expect the time they spent in this habitat* to be that much. If there were rocky surfaces, reefs, they tended to skirt around it.”
An avid* water user, she adopted safety measures including taking note of the conditions, including looking for bait balls* and not going out alone.
Expanded shark surveillance along the NSW coastline began over the weekend, with 73 drones to fly from 6.15am to 5pm at 97 beaches.
New harbour listening stations were installed at Balmoral and Lady Bay in Sydney Harbour.
Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government was spending $120 million in “evidence-based” shark measures such as drones, drumlines, listening stations and nets to help prevent attacks.
“The new harbour listening stations will improve our understanding of bull shark movements in Sydney Harbour and provide real-time notifications to the SharkSmart app when tagged sharks are detected nearby,” she said.
“We are investing in our science research to understand sharks better and use that to enhance our program to make our beaches safer for swimmers, surfers and families.
“While the risk of a shark interaction can never be eliminated entirely, everyone can take simple steps to reduce their risk, including checking local conditions and downloading the SharkSmart app.”
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GLOSSARY
- marine biologist: a scientist who studies animals and plants that live in the sea
- habitat: the natural environment in which an animal or plant usually lives
- predators: animals that hunt, kill, and eat other animals
- bait balls: A roughly spherical, very dense school of fish formed under attack from a predator
- avid: keen, enthusiastic
- ambush: to suddenly attack someone after hiding and waiting for them
- predation: the act of a predator hunting, killing and eating its prey
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QUICK QUIZ
- How many sharks had cameras fitted?
- How many encounters with potential prey were captured by the cameras?
- How many “bursts” toward prey were recorded and how many attacks resulted?
- How many drones will fly from 6.15am to 5pm at 97 NSW beaches?
- What will the new listening stations in Sydney Harbour improve and provide?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Shark behaviours
After reading this Kids News article, fill in the chart below on things you already knew about shark behaviours, things you still wonder about their behaviour, and what you learnt from the surveillance of sharks in the article.
KNOW WONDER LEARN
Do you think studying only 13 sharks gives enough evidence about shark behaviour to base future decisions on?
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
2. Extension
Why do you think sandy sea beds might be useful to great white sharks?
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking
VCOP ACTIVITY
Animal alliterations
With a partner, choose one of the pictures from the article.
Make a list of nouns you could use to name the animal in the picture. For example, instead of a tiger, you could also say cat, or feline.
Pick your favourite noun and identify its initial sound — what sound it starts with, not necessarily what letter.
Now, using the initial sound, make a list of adjectives to describe the animal. Try to be specific. Don’t just look at the animal as a whole, look at their different features as well.
Build on these same sound words, and add any verbs and adverbs you could use to describe the animal and their movements.
Try to put it all together and use as many same sound words in a sentence, to create an alliteration about the animal in the picture. For example: the terrifying tiger, tiptoed through tangled trees chasing his prey.