A Baird government shark summit called to try to halt the spate of attacks in NSW will push to develop real-time tracking of sharks that would be available to swimmers and surfers on a smartphone app or website.
Electronic repellent, plastic shields, and a shark-detecting buoy are among the technologies shortlisted by the government for trials at NSW beaches to stop the wave of shark attacks.
The government is tagging sharks, but cannot currently provide real-time tracking.
It is hoped 4G technology can be used to transmit shark movements in real time back to a base. A meeting of 70 shark experts from around the world, to be held at Taronga Zoo on Tuesday, will explore how this data could then be distributed to the public.
The experts from Hawaii, South Africa and Australia will examine the products.
The high-tech trials will be held this summer, and were an election pledge by Premier Mike Baird, made before the escalation of shark attacks on the north coast, which has closed beaches and driven surfers and swimmers out of the water.
An independent review considered a range of emerging technologies from around the world, and selected Belgian company Aquatek's shark-repelling system. It disrupts shark's electroreceptive sense by blasting water with a magnetic field. Other sea life pass unharmed.
The technology has been trialled at tiny Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, which has been in the grip of its own shark crisis, with two fatalities this year, and seven deaths since 2011.
West Australian products Eco Shark, Bionic Barriers and Aquarius Barriers have also been shortlisted.
The Eco Shark flexible plastic wall was trialled at Coogee Beach in Western Australia. Unlike a net, sea life don't become entangled.
The widest opening in the plastic is 30 centimetres, allowing other sea creatures to swim freely in and out. The company claims dolphins can identify the wall with their sonar.
The Clever Buoy has also been previously trialled in Western Australia. The yellow buoy sends sonar alerts to a satellite and a text message to lifeguards on the beach when it detects a moving shark.
It is being developed by Perth firm Shark Attack Mitigation Systems, Google and Optus, and has been tested in the Sydney Aquarium to teach the buoy to recognise different types of sharks. The developers aim to teach it differentiate between a shark and a dolphin.
The review said the selected products "would not provide a single, simple solution that would encompass all types of beaches in NSW".
An unpatrolled north coast beach would have different requirements to crowded Bondi Beach.
It recommended closer consideration of the emerging technologies to complement existing shark protection measures, such as nets, aerial surveillance and observation towers.
"Making our beaches safer is a top priority for the NSW government; that's why we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure we look at new and innovative ways to protect our beaches," Minister for Primary Industries Niall Blair said.
"The world's best scientists will be in Sydney this week to discuss a number of new technologies to be trialled in NSW waters, which will inform advice to the NSW government on additional measures."
There are 51 shark nets from Newcastle to Wollongong, but there is debate over their effectiveness, as NSW has experienced 13 shark attacks in 2015, including one fatality. Seven people have been injured in attacks.
