Operation
During October 2019, 10 SMART drumlines were deployed for 31 days at Barrenjoey−Newport and 30 days at Manly−Dee Why. Environmental conditions determined how long SMART drumlines were deployed on any given day, ranging from 6:05 to 11:37h at Barrenjoey−Newport and 5:49 to 11:12h at Manly−Dee Why. On average, SMART drumlines were deployed daily for 9:38h at Barrenjoey−Newport and 9:23h at Manly−Dee Why.
Catch
During October 2019, two target sharks were caught (Table 1): a White Shark at Palm Beach and one at Dee Why Beach. Four non-target animals were caught, including three Dusky Whalers and one Mako Shark (Table 1). All animals were released alive.
Comments
When the contractors responded to two alerts at Barrenjoey−Newport, they found that one hook had no bait and the other 20% of the bait remaining.
One SMART drumline failed to set off an alert at Barrenjoey−Newport on 28 October 2019. When the contractor arrived at the drumline for retrieval at the end of the day, a Dusky Whaler was found alive on the line, which was tagged and released immediately (Table 1).
All other sharks triggered an alert to the DPI contractors who responded and were at the SMART drumline within an average of 17 minutes.
Table 1: The date and time of capture of species, their sizes (total length in m), sex, and status during October 2019.
Beach name | Date | Time | Species | Size (TL) and sex | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barrenjoey−Newport | |||||
Palm Beach | 14/10/2019 15/10/2019 28/10/2019 | 17:29 06:40 15:59* | Dusky Whaler White Shark Dusky Whaler | 1.6; Male 2.8; Male 1.5; Male | Alive Alive Alive |
Whale Beach | 13/10/2019 | 17:57 | Dusky Whaler | 1.4; Female | Alive |
Avalon Beach | 26/10/2019 | 14:28 | Shortfin Mako | 1.5; Male | Alive |
Manly−Dee Why | |||||
Dee Why Beach | 28/10/2019 | 16:12 | White Shark | 1.7; Female | Alive |
*No trigger. Time is indicative of when the contractor arrived to pick up the gear at the end of the day