Surf Life Saving NSW drones undertook more than 25,000 flights, covered over 165,000km of coastline across NSW, and sighted over 600* sharks in July, data behind the program has revealed.
The figures from the first month (1-31 July) of the uplifted Shark Management Program, delivered under the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development by Surf Life Saving NSW, break down further to over 800 flights per day and approximately 20* sharks seen per day.
A total of 200 countermeasures – being beach closures and alerting people in the water – resulted from those sightings.
This marks a huge spike on the figures observed during the 25/26 patrolling season, when Shark Management Program drones spotted around 2,000 sharks for the full reporting year. 100,000 flights were also completed during 25/26, with the month of July in 2026 already making up one quarter of that total.
“This has been a massive project so far when you consider where we were only six weeks or so ago to where we are now, and we really have seen some massive results from the first month,” SLSNSW CEO, Steve Pearce said.
“The number of flights undertaken this month, in particular, is huge and as we get closer to summer that monthly figure is going to keep rising.
“This is an important public safety measure and while there is no silver bullet in shark management, we are seeing the benefit of drones being able to spot these sharks sooner and make interventions where necessary.”
Surf Life Saving drones that observe a shark in the vicinity of a swimmer or surfer will sound an alarm on the drone to warn them, and can also speak directly to people in the water via a speaker system.
The operator will then liaise with the lifesaving service on the beach – be it a volunteer or paid lifeguard service – as well as the SLSNSW State Operations Centre, to determine whether there is a need for further action.
“The message to swimmers and surfers remains a clear one – if you see or hear one of our shark spotting drones trying to alert you, consider your own safety and evacuate the area,” Steve said.
For July and August, drones fly at 96 beaches – many of them everyday – from 6.45am til 4.15pm, before extending those hours out to 6.15am til 5pm in September. For more information on your nearest drone surveillance location and days of operation, click here.
*figures indicative of a total number of sharks sighted and not a total number of present sharks. The same shark may be sighted by multiple drones at different locations, or multiple times by the same drone at the same location across the course of day.
Monday 3 August 2026