Aerial shark patrols have resumed this week and will monitor our metropolitan and Fleurieu Peninsula beaches until late April next year.
Regular daily flights will occur from North Haven to Rapid Bay, extending to the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula on weekends, public holidays and school holidays.
Trained shark spotters aboard a Shark Patrol branded light aircraft will closely monitor some of the state's most popular beaches over the summer to help protect beachgoers.
The spotters will immediately advise SAPOL, who then provide an appropriate response in notifying the community.
If the plane spots a shark that may pose a risk to the public, the aircraft will fly in a circle over the location and sound a siren, alerting swimmers in the vicinity to leave the water. They will also immediately advise the South Australia Police (SAPOL), who will then provide an appropriate response.
The Shark Patrol aircraft will be based at the Aldinga Airfield and will be clearly visible to beachgoers with its Shark Patrol branding.
From 14 March, the patrols will be scaled back to weekend cover but will revert to daily flights over the Easter and April school holidays when beachgoer numbers increase.
Last season, the Shark Patrol aircraft undertook more than 450 flights and was in the air for more than 1200 hours. The aircraft siren was also activated more than 90 times, indicating that there were either people in the water or on the beach in the vicinity.
The provision of this service is undertaken by the State Emergency Service and the SA Police in accordance with a Shark Sightings and Incident Response Plan which is administered by Primary Industries and Regions SA.
The SES is responsible for the training of the aircrews and managing the service.
As put by Rhiannon Pearce
Due to an increase in shark activity now occurring earlier in the season, the decision was made to begin shark patrols from mid-November rather than the start of December and extend the flight coverage area to encompass the popular surfing beach of Waitpinga.
Aerial surveillance is an important measure to help keep beachgoers safe, providing eyes in the sky to detect potential danger below.
Having eyes in the sky is one way to protect beachgoers who will be making the most of warmer conditions heading into summer.
As put by Darryl Wright, Deputy Chief Officer for the SES
Sharks are a natural part of our environment, and the State Government has provided funding for aerial shark patrols of highest risk beaches since 2003.
While this service provides beachgoers with some level of security about sharks, we encourage people to still be aware when they are in the water of any potential dangers and if they see something that looks like a shark, get out of the water and alert nearby swimmers and the police.
