Seven months after the New South Wales government pledged $21 million to expand its shark management programs there are no shark listening stations in Wollongong or Shellharbour.
There is one listening station off Surf Beach in Kiama, two in the Shoalhaven at Sussex Inlet and Mollymook, one at Malua Bay in Bateman's Bay and one at Merimbula on the Far South Coast.
The VR4G listening station buoys pick up a signal from tagged sharks and send messages to Twitter and the SharkSmart app, which in turn alert local lifeguards.
The buoys are part of a suite of measures including Shark Management Alert in Real Time (SMART) drum lines and shark spotting drones, which the former deputy premier John Barilaro said would be rolled out last summer.
"Over the coming weeks we will continue to work with coastal councils from Tweed to Bega Valley and everywhere in between to deliver the world's largest shark management program to increase beachgoer safety," he said at the time.
Listening stations in the Kiama electorate were announced by local MP Gareth Ward in July 2016 with the promise of more to come, but their delivery has been slow.
SMART drum lines rolling out
The drum lines, which bait and catch sharks so they can be tagged and released, are now in place in multiple locations along the Illawarra and South Coast.
A NSW Department of Primary Industries spokesperson said 15 SMART drum lines were deployed every day, weather permitting, from Coledale to South Wollongong, Windang to Minnamurra in Shellharbour and Jones Beach to Gerringong in the Kiama local government area.
Since their deployment, no target sharks have been caught in the Wollongong, Shellharbour or Kiama local government areas, the spokesperson said.
The MP in charge of the program, Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders was unavailable for comment.
