8 Jan 2017 - 7 Feb 2017

During the second month (8 January 2017 – 7 February 2017) of the NSW North Coast Shark Meshing Trial, SMART drumlines were deployed for totals of 26 and 28 days at Evans Head and Ballina-Lennox Head, respectively (Table 1). The mean number of hours that SMART drumlines were deployed at each location varied daily depending on ocean conditions (Table 1).

Fifteen (15) alerts were recorded from the SMART drumlines. These included ten (10) alerts with no catch and five (5) with White Sharks. All five sharks were deemed to be in good health and were released alive (Tables 2 and 3). After capture, sharks were relocated further offshore if conditions allowed.  Data indicates that sharks depart the area following capture and release.

Table 1: The mean number of SMART drumlines deployed each day, number of days that the SMART drumlines were deployed, the mean and range of hours SMART drumlines were deployed each day and the number of alerts between 8 January 2017 and 7 February 2017.

Table 2: The location and number of sharks caught and released on SMART drumlines for the reporting period.

Table 3: Cumulative total of species caught and released on SMART drumlines during each reporting month of the NSW North Coast Shark Meshing Trial.