This job is vital to a sophisticated protection system that allows swimmers, surfers, and fishers to monitor the presence of these aquatic hunters in real time when they enter the water.
Daily, workers deploy 305 satellite-linked buoys at popular areas in waters up to 15 meters (50 feet) deep along New South Wales’ coastline as part of the state’s government program.
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The so-called smart drumlines feature baited hooks; when a shark bites, it gets caught and sends a signal to the tagging team.
Then comes the challenging part.
However, it’s not the wild “rodeo” experience many might imagine, according to Paul Butcher, the principal research scientist overseeing the state government’s shark tagging and tracking program for the last decade.
“The sharks are quite benign. The procedure has minimal impact on these sharks,” he informed AFP.
A boat rushes to the buoy within 16 minutes of receiving the alert.
If the shark is one of three potentially dangerous species—great white, bull shark, or tiger shark—the team jumps into action.
They secure two ropes around the animal: one close to its tail and the other ahead of the pectoral fin for body support.
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Once the predator is drawn near to the side of the boat, it is carefully rolled to one side while ensuring seawater continues flowing through its gills. This position naturally induces a trance-like state in the shark, minimizing risk to both the team and the animal.
Workers then measure the shark’s length, gather tissue samples, and attach an acoustic tag to its dorsal fin.
The animal is finally released at least one kilometer (half a mile) offshore, disappearing into the blue with a flick of its tail.
The entire process takes around 15 minutes. “You encounter some animals with unique personalities,” Butcher noted.
“Great whites are relatively easy to work on next to the boat. Tiger sharks, however, are not as manageable. And bull sharks are also quite gentle.”
Over the past decade, the state program—managed by the Department of Primary Industries—has tagged 1,547 white sharks, 756 tiger sharks, and 240 bull sharks.
Tagged sharks are detected when they swim past one of 37 listening stations along the coastline, triggering an alarm on the SharkSmart app, providing beachgoers with instant notifications on their mobiles and smartwatches.
This technology is part of a multi-layered approach adopted by authorities, alongside spotter drones and traditional nets.
Nonetheless, more than 1,280 shark incidents have been recorded across Australia since 1791—about 260 of which were fatal—according to a national database.
While still relatively uncommon, fatal attacks are increasing, with 57 reported deaths in the 25 years leading up to 2025, compared to 27 in the previous quarter-century.
In November, a three-meter (10-foot) bull shark fatally bit one woman and injured her boyfriend off a remote beach north of Sydney.
The Swiss tourists were reportedly filming a pod of dolphins.
Despite overfishing impacting certain shark species, scientists suggest the rise in fatalities may correlate with the increasing number of people entering the water. Furthermore, rising ocean temperatures seem to be affecting sharks’ migratory patterns. Researchers emphasize the need to protect shark populations as well.
Globally, approximately 37 percent of oceanic shark and ray species are classified as either endangered or critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a database for threatened species.
