A CONSISTENT and considered approach to alerting beachgoers about shark sightings, the rollout of shark-tracking buoys, and the logistics of setting beach exclusion zones were just a few of the hot topics discussed at a forum in Lake Macquarie yesterday.
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Staff from councils and lifeguard services along the NSW coast met at Swansea-Belmont Surf Club, at Blacksmiths, to exchange ideas on best-practice shark management techniques.
Lake Macquarie City Council staff joined other professional beach lifeguard service and risk managers from Wollongong, Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and Mid-North Coast councils in the workshop hosted by Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA) in partnership with the council.
The workshop sought to ensure agreement on best-practice shark sighting management techniques and promote a consistent approach across the state.
It comes at a time when beachgoers in NSW are on heightened alert following eight reported shark attacks in the state in 2016.
It comes at a time when debate is hotting up over the state government’s response to shark attack threats, including the merits of smart drumlines and shark netting of beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong.
And it’s not only beachgoers who have good reason to take an interest in shark management policies. This week, the Lakes Mail published the story of a great white shark that was filmed and photographed when it approached and circled Rathmines fisherman Dean Grant in his tinny off Wangi Wangi.
Council’s leisure services manager, Brad Sutton, said council has been working closely with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and APOLA over the past two years introducing a range of measures to protect swimmers from “shark interactions”.
“Coastal councils such as Lake Macquarie are blessed to have such a beautiful stretch of coastline that many residents take advantage of especially during the warmer months,” Mr Sutton said.
“As custodians, however, it is a challenging task to manage multiple hazards within this dynamic environment. The NSW state government’s Shark Management Strategy draws upon a combination of initiatives to protect the public against unwanted interactions with sharks.
“It's not just about sounding a siren after a shark sighting, but ensuring beachgoers are informed about recent closures and instilling confidence in our community by collaborating with other responsible agencies and subject matter experts to develop a consistent approach to closure periods at all locations that considers a range of circumstances.”
The combined professional experience and open collaboration saw a number of ideas and strategies generated at the workshop, he said.
APOLA and a number of member councils are looking to capture this shared knowledge in a best-practice document and make it available to all coastal councils and land managers with an ocean beach patrol function across the state.
Some of the issues discussed included:
- the introduction of the new State Government shark-tracking buoy and ongoing aerial surveillance efforts require a coordinated and consistent response from beach patrol managers across the State;
- the development of a generic procedure that provides each Council the ability to set a site specific ‘virtual exclusion zone’ so that lifeguards are confident of the need for a closure if a shark is sighted within a predetermined distance from any given patrol area and for how long;
- an emphasis on public education and commitment to inform the public about the presence of confirmed shark sightings near patrol locations in a consistent and considered way, particularly during periods of heightened public awareness;
- emerging techniques and various communication platforms to advise the public of recent sightings and beach closures; and
- examples of different approaches from beach patrol professionals from across Australia and internationally.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s professional lifeguards patrol four beaches – Redhead, Blacksmiths, Catherine Hill Bay and Caves beaches.
“Over the last 18 months, we’ve made a deliberate shift towards proactively informing beachgoers of the presence of sharks, particularly after a confirmed sighting which is the focus of a warning system that lifeguards use at Lake Macquarie patrolled beaches,” Mr Sutton said.
Signage at the beach, updates on Council’s website and social media alerts complements the council’s award-winning shark-sighting procedure.
This procedure was developed in collaboration with DPI and was one of the first of its kind on the east coast of Australia.
