Under a $34m initiative by the New South Wales state government which rolled out on 1 July, all 38 of Sydney’s ocean beaches, including Coogee, now receive dawn-to-dusk drone monitoring year round. Seventy NSW beaches in total are part of the program. Before a shark attack on 34-year-old Sydney teacher and mother Leah Stewart in June, in which she lost an arm, drone surveillance was not permitted at Coogee because it lies directly under the flight path from Sydney airport’s east-west runway. Surf Life Saving NSW drone operator Taha Kafil-Hussain explains how the technology is helping keep swimmers safe
Could shark drones keep swimmers safe at Australian beaches?
