The government of New South Wales (NSW) of Australia will invest an additional 34 million UADs (23.44 million USD) to expand shark surveillance operations with drones, after a serious attack on a beach in Sydney earlier this month.
Xinhua on June 28 reported that this funding raises the state's shark risk reduction program to 120 million UADs in 2 years. About 70 beaches in NSW will be monitored year-round by drones, of which the entire beach in Sydney will be monitored from July 1, while areas in rural areas will be patrolled on weekends year-round and flying daily in the summer.
Accordingly, the surveillance program may include up to 500,000 unmanned flights per year, along with artificial intelligence shark detection tests.
NSW Chief Secretary Chris Minns said the program will "lead the world", and said increased patrols are likely to lead to more shark detection reports, reflecting improved detection capabilities rather than increased shark numbers.
The expansion took place after an attack two weeks ago, in which a 34-year-old woman was critically injured by a large white shark while swimming in a flagpole patrol area at the famous Coogee Beach in Sydney.
