News & Alerts

Alert Issued on 1st November 2020 at 1:40pm

Alert level:

A shark ADVICE has been issued for Western Australian water users, due to a system outage affecting the Shark Monitoring Network.

Situation:

• Due to a system outage, tagged shark detections from the Shark Monitoring Network are currently offline
• The system outage is affecting all 34 receivers in the Shark Monitoring Network.
• During the outage any tagged shark detections will be manually monitored and posted to twitter and SharkSmart, however, there will be some delays in notifications due to the manual handling of the data.
• Reported shark sightings are not affected by this outage and will be published as normal through the Shark Notification System.

What to do:

• Adhere to beach closures advised by Local Government Rangers, Parks and Wildlife Service officers or Surf Life Saving WA.
• Use your Sea Sense and stay informed by checking for shark activity on the SharkSmart website, SharkSmart WA app or Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed.
• If you see a shark, report it to Water Police on 9442 8600. All shark sighting information reported to Water Police is provided to land managers and relevant authorities and to the public on the SharkSmart website, SharkSmart WA app and Surf Life Saving WA Twitter feed. 

What authorities are doing: 

The relevant authorities that receive shark notifications to assist them in responses have been notified of the outage affecting tagged shark detections; including the Surf Life Saving WA, WA Police and relevant local government rangers.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is working to restore the system to full operational status as soon as possible. 

Extra information: 

Switch on your Sea Sense and stay informed of shark activity information by checking the SharkSmart website – www.sharksmart.com.au/shark-activity, download the SharkSmart WA app or follow Surf Life Saving WA Twitter – twitter.com/SLSWA. Check www.sharksmart.com.au/news  for current alerts and warnings.

The Shark Monitoring Network forms part of a range of shark mitigation strategies in place.  See www.sharksmart.com.au for additional information.