Kiama is to receive one of five VR4G listening stations being installed on the South Coast as part of the NSW Government’s $16 million Shark Management Strategy to better detect and deter sharks.

The purpose-built listening stations work by registering a tagged shark which swims within approximately 500 metres of the station. An alert is sent to Twitter @NSWSharkSmart and the NSW Government’s Shark Smart app.

Ten listening stations are already in place between Tweed and Forster, on the State’s North Coast. To date, 29 sharks and 88 bull sharks have been tagged in a collaborative effort between NSW DPI Shark Biologists and CSIRO. The other listening stations will be installed at Sussex Inlet, Mollymook, Batemans Bay and Merimbula.

“When it comes to preventing shark attacks we need to give beachgoers better information, and the fact that listening stations provide real time information of shark’s movements means people can make informed decisions before getting in to the water,” says Niall Blair, Minister for Primary Industries Lands and Water.

“Listening stations will now be located up and down the state’s coastline and are just one of the emerging technologies we are using to better detect and deter sharks on the NSW Coast.”

“I hope the research we undertake gives us a greater understanding of sharks so that we can better manage our interaction with them,” says Gareth Ward MP.

All listening stations will be in the water this summer and exact coordinates will be subject to coastal engineering and in consultation with local surf life saving clubs.

For more information, please visit the website at: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/sharks/shark-management.