During the sixth and final month (8 May 2017 – 30 May 2017) of the NSW North Coast Shark Meshing Trial, SMART drumlines were deployed for totals of 22 and 19 days (from 23) at Evans Head and Ballina-Lennox Head, respectively (Table 1). Similar to previous months, the mean number of hours that SMART drumlines were deployed at each location varied daily depending on ocean conditions, (Table 1). The mean number hours deployed was consistently longer at Evans Head (Table 1).
Nine alerts were recorded from the SMART drumlines. These included five White Sharks at Evans Head and two White Sharks and two alerts with no catch at Ballina (Table 2). There was no alert for the one Dusky Shark caught at Evans Head. This small animal (1.15 m total length) was found alive on the SMART drumline at the end of the day.
Table 1. The mean number of SMART drumlines deployed each day, number of days that SMART drumlines were deployed, the mean and range of hours SMART drumlines were deployed each day and the number of alerts between 8 May and 30 May 2017.
Location | Mean number of SMART drumlines deployed daily | Number of days deployed | Mean and range of deployment hours (hours : minutes) | No. of alerts | Reason for alert |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Evans head | 10 | 22 | 9:31 (6:53 to 10:45) | 5 | 5 White Sharks (no alert for the 1 Dusky Shark) |
Ballina - Lennox Head | 15 | 19 | 7:41 (4:40 to 10:09) | 4 | 2 White Sharks and 2 No catch |
Table 2. The location and numbers of sharks caught on SMART drumlines for the reporting period.
Beach | Species | Status at release |
|---|---|---|
Main Beach, Evans Head | White Shark | Alive |
Main Beach, Evans Head | White Shark | Alive |
South Ballina, Ballina | White Shark | Alive |
Main Beach, Evans Head | White Shark | Alive |
Joggly Point, Evans Head | White Shark | Alive |
Main Beach, Evans Head | Dusky Shark | Alive |
Lighthouse Beach, Ballina | White Shark | Alive |
Main Beach, Evans Head | White Shark | Alive |
Table 3. Cumulative total of species caught on SMART drumlines during each reporting month of the NSW North Coast Shark Meshing Trial.
| White Shark | Tiger Shark | Grey Nurse Shark | Bull Shark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ballina to Lennox | Evans Head | Ballina to Lennox | Evans Head | Ballina to Lennox | Evans Head | Ballina to Lennox | Evans Head | |
8 Dec – 7 Jan 2017 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
8 Jan – 7 Feb 2017 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 Feb – 7 Mar 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 Mar – 7 Apr 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
8 Apr – 7 May 2017 | 7a | 3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
8 May - 7 June 2017 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
TOTAL | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
a – 1 individual died
b – 1 individual was found dead on Airforce Beach on May 12 after being tagged and released on May 7