Drones with infra-red technology and high-tech cameras could be used to spot sharks off WA beaches, which have been ranked as a global hotspot for fatal attacks, according to a Perth shark expert.
Surf Life Saving WA statistics show 101 sharks have been seen from the metropolitan helicopter this season, including nine great whites, 57 tiger sharks, two bronze whalers, 11 hammerheads and a whale shark.
But there could have been more than 500 sharks off the metropolitan coast, with a NSW Department of Primary Industries report finding helicopter surveys spotted only 17.1 per cent of sharks.
Wildlife Marine founder and director William Robbins, who wrote the report while working for the NSW Government, said people in helicopters struggled to spot sharks that were more than 2.5m below the surface or more than 250m from the aircraft.
Dr Robbins said it would be worth investigating whether aerial drones, such as those used by the military, could be equipped with infra-red sensors to look further into the water than human observers.
"White sharks in particular, they actually have a body temperature that's slightly higher than the surrounding water that they're swimming in," he said.
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