Family of Sydney shark attack victim Mercury Psillakis welcomes training of surfers as drone pilots

The family of Mercury Psillakis, a surfer who died in a shark attack, has welcomed a new initiative to train surfers as drone pilots for beach surveillance. Mike Psillakis, Mercury's twin brother, believes his brother would still be alive if a drone had been monitoring Long Reef Beach on the day of the attack. The training has started in Sydney's Northern Beaches and will be rolled out to other beaches in New South Wales. By the end of winter, there will be 125 new drone pilots and 60 drones deployed between Newcastle and Wollongong. The initiative is part of NSW's $30 million Shark Management Program and is expected to enhance beach safety. The drones will be used to identify high-risk shark species and pause events for at least 30 minutes in case of a shark sighting.