Bid to boost NSW beach safety

SYDNEY - Beach aerial patrol operators and surf lifesavers are to be asked by the New South Wales Government to suggest better measures to protect beachgoers from sharks following the latest fatal attack.

The move follows a warning by McDonald Aerial Patrols, which conducts shark patrols in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions of the state, that a shark attack off Sydney is now inevitable unless funding is provided for aerial patrols. The patrols ceased operations in Sydney two years ago because of a funding shortfall.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the state's beach meshing programme had been successful to date with just one fatal shark attack on a meshed beach since the programme was introduced in 1937.

But the Government was considering what else could be done. "My office is working to organise a meeting with experienced aerial patrol providers and Surf Lifesaving NSW. I want to discuss practical measures that could potentially supplement our beach meshing programme."

Last Saturday, 21-year-old Sarah Whiley was fatally mauled off Queensland's North Stradbroke Island by bull sharks.

- AAP