Disclaimer and terms of use

1. What this site is

The Northern Beaches Shark Conditions site is an independent, non-commercial, experimental project that combines publicly available data (tagged-shark detections and sightings, weather, ocean and satellite data, and fishing reports) with published research to produce a relative daily rating of shark activity conditions. It is provided for general information and interest only.

2. What it is not

• It is not a warning system, a beach safety service or a substitute for lifeguards, lifesavers, beach closures, official alerts or your own judgement.
• It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or reviewed by NSW DPIRD, the NSW SharkSmart program, Surf Life Saving NSW, Northern Beaches Council or any government agency.
• A Typical rating does not mean the water is safe; it is the normal background level, and sharks are present along this coast all year. A High rating does not mean a shark will be encountered.

3. Limitations you should know about

• Most environmental predictors of shark presence are weak or unproven, and several factors shown are explicitly labelled as local knowledge or contradicted by evidence.
• Weights are informed estimates, not fitted values, and have not been validated against enough local data to quantify accuracy.
• Acoustic receivers only detect tagged sharks within a few hundred metres; most sharks are not tagged. No detection does not mean no shark.
• Data can be late, missing, wrong or unavailable. Third-party sources may change without notice. Ratings are generated once a day (about 5:30am Sydney time) and are not updated during the day.
• Fishing and wildlife reports are compiled automatically from public sources using an AI system and may be incomplete, out of date or misinterpreted.
• Absolute risk on any day is very small and depends heavily on how many people are in the water, which this model does not measure.

4. No warranty, no liability

The information is provided “as is” and “as available”, without any representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, including as to accuracy, completeness, timeliness, reliability or fitness for any purpose. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the creators, operators and contributors of this site exclude all liability (including in negligence) for any loss, damage, injury, illness or death, whether direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, arising from or connected with your use of, or reliance on, this site, its social media posts or any information in them. Where liability cannot be excluded (for example under the Australian Consumer Law), it is limited to the extent permitted by law. The service is free, and nothing on this site is a supply of services to you in trade or commerce.

5. Your responsibility

By using this site or its social media posts, you accept these terms and agree that you are solely responsible for your decisions about entering the water. Before you go:

• Swim or surf at patrolled beaches, between the flags, and follow lifeguard and lifesaver instructions.
• Check the official SharkSmart app for live alerts and beach closures.
• Avoid murky water, river and lagoon mouths after rain, areas with baitfish, diving birds or fishing activity, and swimming alone, far offshore, or at dawn, dusk and night.
• In an emergency call 000.

6. Data and attribution

Data are used under their providers’ terms, including NSW SharkSmart, Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0, non-commercial), NASA JPL / NOAA ERDDAP, IMOS (CC BY 4.0) and the Australian Shark-Incident Database (Riley et al. 2022). Providers are not responsible for how their data are used or interpreted here.

7. Cookies

If you customise factor weights, your settings are saved in a cookie on your device so the rating is shown your way next time. Nothing else is stored and the cookie is not shared. You can clear it with “Reset to defaults” or your browser settings.

These terms may change at any time. Last updated October 2026.