Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches but do they make public safer?

Drone photographer Carlos Gauna views a great white shark on his monitor as he captures video of great white sharks along the Santa Barbara county coast in California. Photograph: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Drone photographer Carlos Gauna views a great white shark on his monitor as he captures video of great white sharks along the Santa Barbara county coast in California. Photograph: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches but do they make public safer? Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen E xperts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York , the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased. There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches. Observers caution that the increase might simply be because more machines are now hovering over the water looking for sharks and that there aren’t necessarily more sharks swimming close to shore. That perceived increase could then incite irrational reactions from government officials and beachgoers, experts say, especially since shark attacks remain very rare. The ultimate result could be a spiral: governments receive more reports of shark sightings, so they purchase more drones, which then spot more sharks. Shark bites are down globally – so why are they going up in Australia? It’s complicated Read more “The truth of the matter is, the number of sharks may not have increased, but certainly the fear factor can go up,” said Greg Skomal, senior fisheries scientist with the Massachusetts division of marine fisheries. The odds of being bitten by a shark are one in 4.3 million, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution . In 2025, there were 65 unprovoked shark bites worldwide, less than the most recent 10-year average of 72, the Florida Museum of Natural History reported. Though sharks do not appear to pose a greater threat, New York state keeps spending more money to monitor them. In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state would increase lifeguard staffing by 25% through overtime and purchase additional drones to watch the ocean. The next year, on Shark Awareness Day, she announced that the state would spend $1m to purchase drones and train staff to use them. The state then deployed 60 drones. This year, the state spent $322,000 to purchase 16 more drones to monitor for sharks, according to the New York state office of parks, recreation and historic preservation. (A spokesperson did not respond on whether this was in addition to the previous $1m commitment or part of it.) “We’re going to be harnessing the power of technology [and] the human capital of our lifeguards and making sure we’re doing everything we can to literally take the bite out of any fut