Maroubra, Sydney, December 9 – The Minns Government has announced an additional $2.5 million investment in shark mitigation measures, including a major uplift in drones, training and on-beach trauma kits for our surfing community across NSW.
The move by Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty, is a significant one for surfing: it formally recognises the often under-acknowledged role surfers play in keeping their local breaks safe and invests directly in our ability to look after our members, our families and the people we share the lineup with.
Above all, this moment belongs to Northern Beaches surfer Mercury Psillakis and his family. Three months on from Mercury’s tragic death at Dee Why, Surfing NSW pays respect to his wife Maria, his twin brother Mike and the entire Psillakis family. Their courage in the hardest possible circumstances has helped turn grief into action that will keep other people safe.
“To have this opportunity to extend the support that Surfing New South Wales provides to its clubs and its members across the entire state is an enormous first step in Mercury’s legacy.”
Surfing NSW CEO, Lucas Townsend
A big first step
Minister Moriarty has committed an extra $2.5 million this year on top of the existing shark management program, sharing that recent tragedies and conversations with surfers were central to the decision.
“They [surfers] are the ones who are usually the first to be impacted or to see sharks in our water,” she said. “They are the ones who are able to provide assistance if the worst is to happen.”
Tara Moriarty, Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW
Since 2022, Surfing NSW has worked closely with the Department of Primary Industries, piloting a community drone and trauma kit program with a selection of regional clubs and partners. This new support lets us open that program up more widely to the rest of the state, to all of our clubs of all disciplines, our surf schools, and replace older units already in the community. The details of access and rollout will be shaped with our clubs, community and water safety team in early 2026.
As part of this investment, the Government is also backing the incredible work of Danny Schouten and the volunteers behind Shark Bite Kit. Each kit includes two tourniquets, a compression bandage, two dressings, a foil blanket, gloves, a whistle and clear step-by-step instructions on how to treat a shark bite. With the financial support, and network reach of Surfing NSW, we’ll be able to help expand both the number of kits on our coastline, maintain what’s inside them and educate surfers on how to use them.
“It’s our members that are there 365 days a year – dawn, dusk, surfing in and around patrolled and unpatrolled regions,” Townsend said. “This added support is a fantastic complement to the professional drone services run by Surf Life Saving.
“This is a really important complementary partnership that we’re extending today,” Townsend said. “We’re able, as surfers, to help fill the gaps between the patrol seasons and places up and down the coast of over 2,500 kilometres of coastline.”
Looking ahead
For Surfing NSW and our members, this is a big moment.
Surfing NSW thanks the Minns Government and Minister Moriarty for backing the role surfers already play – and can increasingly play – in keeping Australians safe in the water.
We also acknowledge and thank Michael Regan, Member for Wakehurst, and Jacqui Scruby, Member for Pittwater, for working closely with the Psillakis family, Surfing NSW and the Government to help make this happen.
And to Maria, Mike and the Psillakis family – thank you for your courage, and for allowing Mercury’s legacy to help protect others. This is just the beginning.