Western Australians have embraced the WA Government’s world-first trial shark deterrent subsidy with the first 977 rebates claimed within six months.
The trial subsidy, which began on May 26, 2017, was originally for 1,000 independently verified devices, but given the popularity of the program, Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly has doubled the funding to allow for an additional 1,000 rebates.
This means people can continue to access the $200 rebates available through retail outlets, who sell the approved shark deterrent device. Details on how the scheme works are available via the SharkSmart website at http://www.sharksmart.com.au
SharkSmart is also the place to go to for people to be informed about alerts, tagged shark detections, reported shark sightings and safety tips, as people plan Christmas holiday activities.
The Government urges all water users to help each other by reporting all shark sightings to Water Police on 9442 8600. This will ensure that SharkSmart and the Surf Life Saving WA Twitter service can alert the community and that beach managers can close beaches, if necessary.