SMART Drumline Trial Extended 12 Months To Gather More Data

The SMART drumline trial will be extended by 12 months at an added cost of $2.832 million to collect more data on the sharks being caught, tagged and monitored in order to enable a fully science-based assessment on the effectiveness of the technology. 

So far in the trial, the SMART drumlines has caught 2 white sharks (the study's target species), as well as 73 non-target sharks.

Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley explained that with white sharks being linked to all the fatal and serious shark attacks in WA during the past 20 years, "increasing the number of tagged sharks will help assess potential risks" and "improve our scientific understanding of their movements". 

"The additional 12 months of running this trial will give us a new point of comparison across seasons and years to the data already gathered," Tinley stated.

Data from the first 15 months will be reviewed by WA's Chief Scientist Peter Klinken, in consultation with the Ministerial Reference Group, to see if the trial's methodology can be improved.

Find out more about the SMART Drumline Trial operations at www.sharksmart.com.au.

Miss the show? Catch up below...