Surf lifesavers consider using drones
Option recommended after shark fatally attacks teen
Lifeguards are looking into using hi-tech drones to help spot dangerous sharks and swimmers in difficulty at Bay of Plenty beaches after a fatal attack last year
Kaelah Marlow, 19, died after being bitten by a great white shark attack at Bowentown, Waih¯ı Beach on January 7.
Coroner Michael Robb’s report into her death, released this week, recommended the use of drones among other safety measures to help prevent further deaths.
The coroner ruled Marlow died after suffering “massive and unsurvivable blood loss”, and there was nothing lifeguards could have done differently to prevent her death.
However, he made recommendations including that lifeguards use drone technology to help them monitor ocean waters and conditions in and around flagged areas at beaches.
He also recommended lifeguards warn swimmers about the potential dangers of venturing beyond the breakers in areas where great whites are known to populate.
Other recommendations included:
■ having towers installed for lifeguards at beaches great white sharks are known to frequent
■ shark warning signs in the area
■ a statutory provision that would give lifeguards the authority to have members of the public leave the beach.
The coroner also said more research was needed on why great white numbers were rising and “what level of risk they pose for the public”.
Chaz Gibbons-campbell, the Eastern region Surf Lifesaving manager, told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend Surf Lifesaving New Zealand endorsed these recommendations.
Gibbons-campbell said lifeguard patrol towers were already used in some form at each of the main beaches in the eastern region and the Coromandel Peninsula area, including at Waih¯ı.
That included high chair-style patrol towers at Bowentown and Island View which were funded by a $15,000 donation made by Marlow’s family a few months after her death, he said.
“It was a really generous and unexpected donation and these patrol towers have been put into great effect ever since.
“Locals in and around the area have also been really supportive in terms of these structures.”
Pa¯pa¯moa East /Tay Street had the same type of towers.
“In terms of drones, we’re currently looking into the Uav(unmanned aerial vehicle) drones programme used in New South Wales, which is essentially aerial surveillance to try and spot swimmers in difficulty and also as a shark spotter if the water quality is good enough.”
However, he said there were difficulties using drones in high winds and also a lot of New Zealand beaches were marine and wildlife reserves, with protected birdlife species nesting in sand dunes.
Gibbons-campbell said the cost of drones that could still operate in high winds would be “a good few thousand dollars” and fixed permanent lifeguard towers were also expensive.
In terms of erecting shark warning signs around beaches, some people ignored the existing warning signs and many people did not swim between the flags, he said.
Local shark expert Dr Riley Elliott is leading a great white shark tagging and tracking project permitted by the Department of Conservation that is set to begin on December 1.
Surf Lifesaving NZ said it “fully supported” the project.
Elliott said he also supported the coroner’s recommendations.
The tagging project’s aim was to help protect the endangered shark species by reducing the risk of another attack and more shark deaths.
A sponsorship campaign was underway to help fund it.
“This is not the golden answer but hopefully, it will grow our understanding of our shark population, their migration, feeding behaviours and the areas that people should avoid.
“Ultimately, the aim of this research is to both help protect the endangered shark species and us, by reducing the risk of another attack and more shark deaths.”
The University of Waikato was also researching the size and makeup of the white shark population in the Bay following an increase in the species’ local interractions with humans over the past few years.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s reserves and facilities manager Peter Watson said the council was “happy to investigate temporary signage to assist [lifeguards] during their patrol season”.
“However, this is not just about Bowentown.
“This could be anywhere along our beautiful coastline in Aotearoa and so there needs to be some thought given for signage consistency
nationwide.”
In a written statement, Tauranga City Council’s spaces and places manager Sarah Pearce said the council was working “with Surf Lifesaving NZ to ensure they have the resources they require to keep our community safe while enjoying our beautiful beaches”.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder said he believed the coroner’s recommendations “make a lot of sense” including lifeguards having the latest technology to scrutinise the waters at beaches.
“As far as having the authority to close the beaches, if the Surf Lifesaving club members viewed it as essential to ensure public safety they should do it.”
Water Safety New Zealand chief executive Daniel Gerrard said shark attacks of this nature were really rare.