Shark tracking apps and real-time tagged-shark and sighting alert networks

Mechanism

Two feeds drive these systems. Acoustic listening stations near beaches detect tagged white, tiger and bull sharks and automatically push an alert (the NSW system fires when a tagged shark passes within about 500 m of a station). Alongside this, apps aggregate sightings reported by the public, lifeguards or dedicated spotters and notify users by phone or smartwatch. The result is a low-cost awareness layer that helps people decide when to stay out of the water.

Where it fits

The connective tissue between detection (drones, spotters, tagging) and behaviour — it turns one sighting into action by thousands of water users. It works on any coast with a tagging/station network or an active reporting community, and pairs naturally with the behavioural-timing approach.

Operating profile

• Tagged-shark alerts only cover tagged individuals — a small fraction of the population — and only near a station.
• Listening stations have limited range and coverage gaps; crowd-sourced reports vary in reliability and timeliness.
• The biggest risk is false reassurance: no alert does not mean no shark.
• Depends on connectivity and on user adoption.

Evidence

NSW operates roughly 37 tagged-shark listening stations (at least one per coastal council) feeding the SharkSmart app and a public feed, with new stations added in Sydney Harbour in 2025–26. Community apps such as Dorsal (Australia) and Sharktivity (north-east US), and spotter-fed alerts like Shark Spotters (Cape Town, running since 2004), show the model working across very different settings — while makers and scientists stress it supplements rather than replaces in-water caution.