I wouldn’t fancy the job
The Australian Department of Fisheries is tagging great white sharks off the Perth coast and monitoring their movements via satellite.
The aim is to improve understanding of when, where and for how long sharks hang about beaches.
Department of Fisheries’ Senior Research Scientist Dr Rory McAuley said that two of the three satellite-linked monitors, installed early this year, had recorded four detections to date.
“With more monitors installed we have improved chances of hearing from tagged sharks, when they are around. However, it is too early to tell how many detections we will receive, because we don’t yet know how often individual sharks visit the region,” Dr McAuley said.
His intrepid team has tagged 74 white sharks so far, and is aiming for around 100.
These particular sharks won’t be able to sneak up on swimmers any more. When the satellite system detects a shark near a beach, an alert will be sent to lifeguards.
There’s more information on the Department of Fisheries website at www.fish.wa.gov.au/shark
