Operation
During October 2017, SMART drumlines were deployed for 20 days at Ballina-Lennox Head, 21 days at Evans Head, 23 days at Coffs Harbour, and 26 days at Forster. Environmental conditions determined how long SMART drumlines were deployed on any given day, ranging from 4:25h to 12:17h. On average, SMART drumlines were deployed daily for 8:17h at Ballina-Lennox Head and Coffs Harbour, 9:03h at Evans Head, and 10:17h at Forster.
Total catches
A total of 39 target sharks across the four locations were caught: two Tiger Sharks (one male and one unknown) both from Coffs Harbour; and 37 White Sharks (11 males and 26 females). White sharks were caught at all locations: 15 at Forster; 10 at Evans Head; 9 at Ballina-Lennox Head; and 3 at Coffs Harbour (Tables 1 and 2).
A total of 19 non-target animals were caught, comprised of one Black Ray at Coffs Harbour, and 18 non-target sharks from six species, predominantly Dusky Whalers, Greynurse Sharks, and Thresher Sharks (Table 3).
Comments
When the contractor responded to twenty-seven alerts that had no catch they found that on 23 hooks the bait was fully intact, three hooks had no bait, and one hook had 75% of the bait remaining.
Two SMART drumlines failed to set off any alert. On one occasion at Lighthouse Beach, Ballina the contractor found a White Shark alive on the line when they were moving through the area. The contractor successfully tagged and relocated the shark (Table 1). On the second occasion at Main Beach, Forster the SMART drumline found 100 m off the beach with the anchor line bitten in half, but bait fully intact. The local Surf Lifesaving Club reported this to NSW DPI and the contractor repaired and redeployed the gear immediately.
All other caught animals triggered an alert to the DPI contractors who responded and were at the SMART drumline within an average of 19 minutes.
Table 1: The date and time of capture of species and their sizes (total length in m for sharks; disc width for rays), sex and status during the month of October 2017.
Beach name | Date | Time | Species | Size (TL) and sex | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ballina to Lennox Head | |||||
Lennox Head Beach | 06/10/2017 10/10/2017 | 12:41 12:34 | Dusky Whaler White Shark | 1.9; Female 1.6; Male | Alive Alive |
Lennox Point | 28/10/2017 | 8:48 | Dusky Whaler | 1.5: Female | Alive |
Boulders Beach | 06/10/2017 28/10/2017 | 14:39 8:40 | White Shark White Shark | 3.2; Male 2.8; Male | Alive Alive |
Sharpes Beach | 04/10/2017 24/10/2017 | 11:57 8:49 | White Shark White Shark | 1.7; Female 2.8; Female | Alive Alive |
Shelly Beach | 22/10/2017 25/10/2017 | 12:36 9:29 | White Shark White Shark | 2.2; Female 2.2; Male | Alive Alive |
Lighthouse Beach | 05/10/2017 | 14:00* | White Shark | 2.4; Female | Alive |
South Ballina Beach | 06/10/2017 22/10/2017 28/10/2017 28/10/2017 | 13:15 12:27 12:25 15:40 | Smooth Hammerhead Shark Dusky Whaler White Shark Common Blacktip Shark | 1.5; Male 2.2; Male 3.1; Male 1.9; Male | Alive Alive Alive Alive |
Evans Head | |||||
Airforce Beach | 02/10/2017 11/10/2017 22/10/2017 23/10/2017 | 12:10 09:00 07:22 07:40 | White Shark White Shark Greynurse Shark White Shark | 1.8; Female 2.6; Female 2.8; Female 2.7; Male | Alive Alive Alive Alive |
Main Beach | 02/10/2017 22/10/2017 23/10/2017 25/10/2017 26/10/2017 29/10/2017 | 16:26 07:25 14:13 10:12 13:23 12:10 | White Shark Greynurse Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark Greynurse Shark | 3.0; Female 2.8; Female 3.1; Female 2.5; Male 3.1: Female 2.5; Female | Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive |
Shark Bay to Joggly Point | 7/10/2017 23/10/2017 29/10/2017 | 13:18 07:45 8:11 | White Shark White Shark White Shark | 2.4; Female 2.3; Female 3.6; Female | Alive Alive Alive |
Coffs Harbour/Sawtell | |||||
Diggers Beach | 01/10/2017 29/10/2017 | 09:49 16:44 | Greynurse Shark Dusky Whaler | 2.9; Female 1.4; Male | Alive Alive |
Park Beach | 04/10/2017 27/10/2017 | 11:59 08:04 | Black Ray Dusky Whaler | 1.8; Female 2.8; Male | Alive Alive |
Boambee Beach/Headland | 06/10/2017 09/10/2017 11/10/2017 19/10/2017 27/10/2017 30/10/2017 30/10/2017 | 14:45 11:28 14:41 12:21 10:43 08:38 09:31 | White Shark Dusky Whaler Tiger Shark Dusky Whaler White Shark White Shark Tiger Shark | 2.2; Female 2.9; Female 2.5; Unknown 2.8; Male 2.2; Male 2.6; Female 1.9; Male | Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive |
Sawtell Headland | 02/10/2017 | 15:00 | Dusky Whaler | 2.2; Male | Alive |
Forster/Tuncurry | |||||
Tuncurry Beach | 06/10/2017 06/10/2017 8/10/2017 8/10/2017 12/10/2017 20/10/2017 24/10/2017 30/10/2017 | 10:17 12:53 09:47 12:35 17:22 13:45 9:50 12:51 | White Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark White Shark | 2.9; Female 2.3; Female 1.8; Male 3.1; Female 2.4; Female 3.2; Female 2.6; Female 2.3; Female | Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive |
Main Beach | 21/10/2017 | 09:40 | White Shark | 2.9; Female | Alive |
Pebbly Beach | 07/10/2017 13/10/2017 24/10/2017 | 17:04 13:15 14:03 | White Shark Thresher Shark White Shark | 3.0; Male 3.5; Male 3.0; Male | Alive Alive Alive |
Bennetts Head | 14/10/2017 | 13:50 | Thresher Shark | 3.7; Female | Alive |
One Mile Beach | 01/10/2017 7/10/2017 8/10/2017 13/10/2017 14/10/2017 20/10/2017 | 12:50 15:22 17:43 07:37 15:30 12:08 | White Shark Bronze Whaler White Shark Thresher Shark White Shark White Shark | 3.0; Female 2.7; Female 3.2; Female 3.5; Female 3.3; Female 3.0; Female | Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive Alive |
* indicates no alert but the time when the contractor saw the shark on the line and attended the shark
Table 2: Cumulative total of target shark species caught on SMART drumlines since December 2016 at Ballina-Lennox Head (BL), Evans Head (EH), Coffs Harbour (CH) and Forster (F).
| White Shark | Tiger Shark | Bull Shark | TOTAL | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | ||||
8 Dec – 7 Jan 2017 | 4 | 5 | - | - | 2 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 11 | ||
8 Jan – 7 Feb 2017 | 4 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 5 | ||
8 Feb – 7 Mar 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | ||
8 Mar – 7 Apr 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | ||
8 Apr – 7 May 2017 | 7a | 3b | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 | 0 | - | - | 12 | ||
8 May – 31 May 2017 | 2 | 5 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 7 | ||
1 June – 30 June 2017 | 5 | 11 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | 17 | ||
1 July – 31 July 2017 | 11 | 16 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 27 | ||
1 Aug – 31 Aug 2017 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
1 Sep – 30 Sep 2017 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | ||
1 Oct – 31 Oct 2017 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | ||
SUB TOTAL | 56 | 66 | 10 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ||
TOTAL | 178 | 7 | 3 | 188 | |||||||||||
a 1 individual died
b 1 individual was found dead on Airforce Beach, Evans Head on May 12 after being tagged and released on May 7.
Table 3: Cumulative total of non-target species caught on SMART drumlines since December 2016 at Ballina-Lennox Head (BL), Evans Head (EH), Coffs Harbour (CH) and Forster (F). Note “–“ in the table indicates no trial in that region during that month.
| Greynurse Shark | Dusky Whaler | Whaler Shark - unidentified | Black Ray | Thresher Shark | Shortfin Mako Shark | Bronze Whaler | Common Blacktip Shark | Smooth Hammerhead | TOTAL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | B L | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | BL | EH | CH | F | ||
8 Dec 2016 – 7 Jan 2017 | 0 | 2 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 |
8 Jan – 7 Feb 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
8 Feb – 7 Mar 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
8 Mar – 7 Apr 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
8 Apr – 7 May 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 |
8 May – 31 May 2017 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 |
1 June – 30 June 2017 | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 |
1 July – 31 July 2017 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 0 | 0 | - | - | 4 |
1 Aug – 31 Aug 2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
1 Sep – 30 Sep 2017 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1a | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
1 Oct – 31 Oct 2017 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
SUB TOTAL | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
TOTAL | 17 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
a 1 individual was found dead on the line after an alert