Seven sharks bred in captivity have been released into the waters off Sydney’s famous Manly beach in what marine biologists are calling an Australian first.
The two-year-old wobbegong sharks were slowly eased into the ocean by scientists who will track their movements with specially designed acoustic devices over the next five years.
"We've got these tags in them and out there we have a array of listening stations so we can pinpoint the exact location of where they are," Dr Vic Peddemors from the Department of Primary Industries said.
"Every one of these guys, we can track their daily moments, their hourly movements, their movements by the second can be tracked."
It's the first time in Australia that captive-bred sharks have ever been released back into their natural habitat and Sydney Institute of Martine Science head scientist Dr Charlie Huveneers called the moment "historic".
"Sharks have a very slow reproductive rate so we never consider captive-bred sharks to be released into the wild to replenish a population," he said.
"If aquariums have enough sharks then they begin to exchange them, but because there are large numbers of these sharks they are happy to release them."
Half-a-dozen scuba divers were in the water to guide the sharks from the beach to the open cove, but a few sharks got lost and ended up swimming towards the beach by mistake — all teething problems, according to Dr Peddemors.
"Can you blame them?" he asked.
"They've spent their whole life swimming around and around in a tank so they'll take some time getting used to their whereabouts."
Some passersby also raised concerns whether the sharks would be able to fend for themselves and find wild fish to eat, a worry that was dismissed by scientists.
"Sharks are very instinctive animals and I know that they're going to be fine," Dr Huvaneers said.
"I'm sure that they'll easily survive and they'll be feeding within the hour."
The bottom-dwelling sharks are found in the oceans off Australia and can reach lengths of up to three metres.
It is extremely rare for this breed of shark to attack humans.
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