Helicopter beach patrols will take off this weekend as more Western Australians holiday at home.
Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley said the State-funded helicopter patrols will run from September 5, 2020 to April 30, 2021 at a cost of $7.78 million.
"Helicopter patrols are important eyes in the sky, helping keep people safe in the water and providing some reassurance so we can enjoy our beautiful beaches," he said.
"Surf Life Saving WA do a great job delivering this highly valued service over eight months of the year and we are pleased they will continue this work for at least the next two seasons."
In 2019-20 there was a record 1,040 patrol hours logged covering around 115,000 kilometres of the WA coast from Yanchep to Mandurah, including Rottnest Island, and south from Bunbury to Hamelin Bay.
Patrols reported 501 shark sightings and beaches were closed 50 times as a precaution.
Along with helicopter beach patrols, the rollout of the Beach Emergency Number (BEN) signs is continuing along the State's coast.
The program started in December 2017 as an initiative of Rick Gerring, the brother of Ben Gerring, who lost his life after a shark attack near Mandurah in 2016.
The BEN signs recently reached a significant milestone with the 1,000th sign installed in the City of Wanneroo.
Each BEN sign has a unique code to pinpoint the exact location of the beach and improve crucial emergency response times for a range of potentially serious incidents such as surfing injuries or shark incidents.
"Since May 2018, there have been 332 requests for police assistance and 188 requests for St John Ambulance via triple zero calls, where BEN signs proved important in getting first responders to an emergency quickly," Mr Tinley said.
"In the recent shark bite incident at Bunker Bay, the BEN sign helped authorities confirm the exact location of the incident and respond quickly to close the beach - ensuring public safety."
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