Case study of
#00072 Behavioural risk reduction: timing, location and conditions guidance for water users
New South Wales, Australia
#00070
OngoingRegion
Implementer
NSW DPIRD (SharkSmart)
Location
New South Wales, Australia-32.1630, 147.0321
Description
The NSW SharkSmart campaign operationalizes behavioural risk reduction at state scale through signage, a mobile education van programme, school-holiday pop-up events, and condition-based alerts and warnings during elevated-risk periods (e.g., after heavy rain when bull sharks move into estuaries). The 2025–26 enhancement added a second mobile education van, updated signage, and distributed 150 Community Shark Bite Kits across the state.
Metrics
2Mobile education vans added 2025-261 additional
Community Shark Bite Kits distributed 2025-26150
Funding
NSW Government
Lessons learned
- Condition-based warnings issued after heavy rainfall directly target the mechanism behind estuarine bull-shark clustering, making them more actionable than generic year-round guidance.
- The programme's effect on bite numbers cannot be isolated from other concurrent measures, so budget cases should pair it with detection hardware rather than treating it as a standalone intervention.
Documented Jun 26, 2026