Back-to-Back Drone Support Operations for State Surfing Festivals Commences this Weekend

Shark Watch SA is ready to take to the sky again this weekend in partnership with Korella Aerial Solutions to provide drone support at the Berry Bay Surf Jam. It marks our first double header for coastal drone support operations at major SA surfing festivals with a massive weekend up and coming the following week at the Southern Surf Festival at Middleton Point. Constant drone surveillance will be coordinated by Korella Aerial Solutions and SA Above & Beyond who are both RePL and ReOC holders.

The partnership between Korella Aerial Solutions and Shark Watch SA couldn't have come at a better time as we launch phase 2 of our coastal drone support initiative aimed at providing drone surveillance for statewide marine aquatics programs. At these events, we endeavor to also be able to present some general shark safety tips from peer reviewed sources, and make it an intimate and insightful educational experience sharing knowledge about the importance of sharks and their biology. In 2025, our community drone shark spotting initiative became a major success gaining some profound media attention and allowing us to spend more time out in the field experimenting with this advanced aerial surveillance system in collaboration with several drone enthusiasts.

Since the projects inception, we have began developing a $500,000 statewide drone patrol program which would help monitor popular coastal destinations all over the state during busy summer periods from December - February. The project is currently being formalized by the SWSA team with the initial outlay of the operation established in December 2025. Shark Watch SA will begin approaching the state government and local councils to inquire about funding in the coming months. This project is intended to be the most vast drone shark spotting program ever rolled out in South Australia, with drone operators on-boarded to carry out a noble act of community service whilst getting paid for their time and streaming real-time shark observations to the SWSA platform. This is a vision we look to be pursuing with more vigor in the coming months, with the core focus centered around developing a proactive and transparent relationship with state government and coastal communities around the state to deliver trusted and effective coastal aerial support at high activity zones for shark activity.

SWSA Founder Anton Covino (left) with SA Above & Beyond (Anthony Anderson).

So far, Anthony Anderson from SA Above & Beyond has coordinated shark surveillance operations at three SA surfing festivals hosted by the chief state surfing organisation, "Surfing SA". Surfing SA are now becoming great partners with Shark Watch SA and have helped our pilots get some solid experience under their belts as we look to host bigger statewide operations in the future. We acknowledge that the nature of these drone operations are incredibly volatile, and situations in the surf can change in an instant which is why SWSA Founder, Anton Covino, and all other pilots wanting to be a part of this work, will need to up skill their expertise and safety qualifications to not only ensure that drone licensing obligations are being met, but also the safety obligations to help those who might find themselves in a life threatening situation out in the surf. Either way, we will do the best we can to get underway!