Australia tries to fend off shark bites with new tech and old

High above Sydney's beaches, drones seek one of the world's deadliest predators, scanning for the flick of a tail, the swish of a fin or a shadow slipping through the swell.

- LAURA CHUNG

Surf Lifesaver Eliza Heys flies a drone in an effort to spot sharks swimming near Dee Why Beach in Sydney on Oct 1.

(AFP)

Australia's oceans are teeming with sharks, with great whites topping the list of species that might fatally chomp a human.

Undeterred, Australians flock to the sea in huge numbers, with a 2024 survey showing nearly two-thirds of the population made a total of 650 million coastal visits in a single year.

Many beach lovers accept the risks. When a shark killed surfer Mercury Psillakis off a northern Sydney beach in September, his grief-stricken family called it "a tragic and unavoidable accident".

Increasingly crowded waters and rising ocean temperatures that appear to be swaying sharks' migratory patterns may be contributing to an escalation in attacks despite overfishing depleting some species, scientists say.

More than 1,280 shark incidents have been recorded around Australia since 1791 — about 260 of them fatal — according to a national database.

Though still relatively rare, fatal attacks do appear to be on the rise with 56 reported deaths in the 25 years to 2025, compared to 27 deaths in the previous quarter-century.