00:02The Northern Territory's longest running fishing tournament is back on the Daly River
00:06and the Barra are biting.
00:09How can you miss it? Look at the weather.
00:12Best week of the year.
00:13After a wet season of record breaking floods, the Daly River has changed.
00:18Anglers say while the fish haven't gone anywhere, there are new obstacles to contend with.
00:22Fat, healthy, silver fish, they look great, but yeah, it's a bit treacherous.
00:27After a few boats did serious damage hitting flood debris at last month's Barra Nationals,
00:32a new app has been introduced for people to report hazards in the river.
00:36If you see a snag, flag it, you get the coordinates, and then when you get back,
00:42you just scan the QR code and you put in the coordinates, so they'll come out and flag them.
00:48It's not just logs and crocodiles keeping competitors on their toes, but bull sharks as well.
00:54Lost a lot of good fish to sharks. Just can't get anything fast enough.
00:59Sharks on the Daly River aren't anything new, but almost everyone we've spoken to has stories
01:04about sharks from the past few days.
01:06And long-time NT fishermen say there are more around than usual.
01:11There's definitely more of them, and they seem a bit bigger than they have been in previous years.
01:14Joni Peene Fitzsimmons is a research fellow at Charles Darwin University who specialises in sharks and rays.
01:22She says while scientists can't verify the uptick, strong shark populations suggest a healthy ecosystem.
01:29Sharks are an indicator species, so when they're there it makes us really happy,
01:32because it means that they're productive systems, they're healthy,
01:35and they're able to support those really important species.
01:37A pain for anglers and fish, but a good sign for the river's health.
01:45Sharks on the beach.
01:45Oh, my God.
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