Drones have been approved to circle above a busy Sydney beach where a woman was mauled by a shark, despite its proximity to the city’s main airport.

It came amid widening calls – including from former prime minister Tony Abbott – for a cull of sharks after a woman aged in her 30s was critically injured by a shark at Coogee Beach on Saturday

The woman, who was swimming between the flags when she was attacked, suffered flesh wounds to her leg and arm. On Monday, St Vincent’s Hospital said she remained in a critical but stable condition.

Surf Lifesaving NSW public safety manager Brent Manieri confirmed the CASA ban had been lifted to allow drones to fly across several Sydney beaches for the rest of the week.

“We will be operating … to ensure there’s a level of aerial surveillance that the community can feel safe and assured in when they want to come back down and have a swim,” he told ABC on Monday.

The beach is about eight kilometres from Sydney Airport.

Manieri said negotiations continued with the NSW government for drones to fly across the state’s entire coastline to protect the public.

He said there had been more than 100,000 drone flights tracking sharks across NSW since July 2025.

A great white shark, which is a protected species, is thought to have been responsible for Saturday’s attack, despite the woman swimming between the flags and “doing all right things.”

It follows a cluster of attacks nationwide, including several bull shark bites in Sydney Harbour in January.

The latest incident has reignited calls for culls to protect swimmers, which NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty has not expressly ruled out.

Abbott has joined other politicians in a strong push to cull sharks, citing community safety.

“It’s so wrong that we don’t cull sharks after attacks,” he said in a video posted on his social media.

“It’s so wrong we don’t put people before sharks.”

But experts warn there is little evidence shark culls keep ocean-goers safer following the latest shocking encounter at a busy city beach.

Adelaide University environmental science program director Brianna Le Brusque said harmful encounters with the predators were tragic and cull discussions an understandable response.

But she said there was no science for how many animals would need to be removed to keep swimmers safe nor evidence it would meaningfully improve community safety.

Surveillance methods to alert swimmers were more effective, though complicated in Coogee by a flight path that generally kept drones out of the air.

Le Brusque said there were other detection options, including employing spotters from vantage points.

Federal Labor MP for Kingsford Smith, Matt Thistlewaite, said aviation safety was paramount. But he backed the idea of exploring low-flying drones.

He was not in favour of shark culls.

Shark nets, another method of separating humans from marine predators, will be installed at the start of September, although the NSW government is seeking expert advice from the Department of Primary Industries.

RMIT University senior research fellow Rebecca Olive said there was more than one type of shark net, with some fully-enclosed and others free-floating.

“Whales, dolphins, turtles, rays and birds all get caught in them, and they stop nothing,” she said.

Olive said shark encounters always caused “great pain” for individuals involved and their families, as well as communities.

“These are really difficult issues, and the people who are involved are people who love oceans.”

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club will host a community gathering for anyone affected by the shark attack on Monday night.

-AAP