Shark patrol plan aired for Port Macquarie
A report in the Port Macquarie News says that a father and son team wants to start an airborne “shark patrol” to monitor Port Macquarie waters.
John and Damien Trajkovic need a sponsor to use their twin-engine, six-seat plane to warn swimmers along the 60km shoreline from Point Plomer to Laurieton of sharks.
It coincides with the shark attack at Byron Bay, 400km north of Port Macquarie, when a woman fought off a white pointer after it knocked her off her surf ski.
The information provided by a CSIRO scientist who specialises in shark movement, Barry Bruce, suggests the animal is on its way south past Port Macquarie as it chases schools of salmon, tailor and mullet.
The Trajkovics are yet to see any sharks off the coast of Port Macquarie this swimming season.
John Trajkovic said Point Plomer seemed to be the most popular place with sharks on the coast here. He saw six there last summer as he did training flights with his students.
The 54-year-old pilot who did shark patrols at Batemans Bay, which is his old home town, reckons keeping people informed about their movements is a must for any holiday destination by the sea.
“Port Macquarie is a really tourism-driven place,” he said, adding the reports would be sent to radio stations and lifeguards. “My son uses the beach and so do his friends.”
Mr Bruce said the flyers would be helped by the shallow coastline along the Mid- North Coast, which is needed to see sharks from the air.
“It would also be a useful way to collect sighting data if it was all logged,” Mr Bruce said.
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council parks and recreation manager, Dale Smith, welcomed any further help for his lifeguards.
Report by The Mole from the Port Macquarie News
John Alwyn-Jones
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