Shark-spotting program expanded across the Mid North Coast

Some of the Mid North Coast’s most popular beaches will be monitored by drones every day of the year, in response to a spate of shark attacks on the East Coast.

Announced on Sunday, Surf Live Saving NSW will monitor around 70 beaches across the state year-round, including Sawtell Main Beach, Hungry Head Beach (Urunga), Scotts Head, Crescent Head, Town Beach/Oxley Beach (Port Macquarie), Crowdy Head and the Forster/Tuncurry Break Wall. 

The drones are flown by volunteer surf life savers from the sand, with the ability to provide real‑time warnings to beachgoers via onboard loudspeaker systems if a shark is spotted below.

The rationale: The NSW Government says an additional $34 million investment in drones will prioritise beaches with “high numbers of swimmers, surfers and paddlers”, with the expanded monitoring program to launch July 1.

As well as the year-round patrols, additional beaches in the Coffs Harbour, Kempsey, Port Macquarie and MidCoast LGAs will be monitored every weekend and daily between December 1 and April 30.

Drone flight hours will now be set to cover dawn to dusk, having varied previously.

What they said: Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the program will be the “most extensive aerial shark surveillance program” ever rolled out in NSW and would incorporate new technologies, such as AI, to “extend drone coverage to more beaches at lower cost over time”.

CEO Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce said the existing program had conducted over 100,000 flights in 2026 and prevented “over 2,000 sharks interacting with swimmers and surfers”. 

Growing fear: A series of shark attacks in recent months have contributed to growing concern about ocean safety on the Mid North Coast.

A 39-year-old surfer had his board bitten by a suspected bull shark at Point Plomer near Crescent Head in January, while a Swiss tourist was killed and her partner seriously injured in a shark attack at Crowdy Bay last November.

Safety the priority: While some local surfers have expressed concern the increased drone presence will mean more regular beach closures, Nambucca surfer Barry Jagoe - who leads a longboard surfing club at Scotts Head - said safety must come first.

• “I’ve seen a lot of footage from drones that have located sharks. I think it's made everybody a lot more aware of how prevalent the sharks are,” he told the Mid North Coaster.

Part of the solution: Mid North Coast high school teacher and surfer Danny Schouten, who has led the rollout of emergency shark bite kits at beaches across the state, said the “more safety measures the better”.