Sydney’s beaches enter the drone age to get swimmers back in the water after spate of shark attacks

Sydney’s beaches are adopting drone surveillance as part of a broader effort to reassure swimmers and reduce shark encounters after a series of high-profile attacks in the past year.

Surf Life Saving New South Wales drone operator Taha Kafil-Hussain conducts early morning flights to monitor conditions at Coogee Beach, where drone surveillance was previously restricted due to its proximity to Sydney Airport’s flight path. The recent lifting of restrictions followed a shark attack on a 34-year-old Sydney teacher in June, which resulted in the loss of her left arm. In a television interview, the victim described the encounter as terrifying, comparing the experience to “fighting a dinosaur.”

The state government has responded with a $34 million shark mitigation program, which began on July 1. Under the initiative, 38 of Sydney’s ocean beaches, including Coogee, now receive year-round drone monitoring from dawn to dusk. An additional 32 beaches across New South Wales are also part of the program, while others will see increased surveillance during peak summer and school holiday periods. Starting Tuesday, surveillance hours will expand to 6:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily as daylight hours increase.

Kafil-Hussain, who has operated drones for Surf Life Saving NSW for four years, conducts 20-minute flights at Coogee, scanning the water in a grid pattern to detect unusual movement. He focuses on identifying anything moving against the current or appearing unusually long, zooming in when potential hazards are spotted. On a recent winter morning, he confirmed a sighting as harmless seaweed.

Christopher Pepin-Neff, an associate professor and shark policy expert at the University of Sydney, supports drones as the most effective current technology for shark detection but notes limitations. He highlights challenges such as poor visibility on windy days or when sharks are too small to be seen from the air.