A great white shark has been the first potentially lethal predator stopped by specially installed nets off the NSW far north coast.
The 3.2 metre great white was caught in the device on Saturday just days after nets were installed, Macquarie Radio reports.
The female predator was reportedly caught and tagged at Sharpes Beach, north of Ballina, while another four sharks have been caught on drum lines in the same area.
Shark nets have been installed at five locations in the Ballina and Evans Head regions in an attempt to hose down fears about the deadly creatures roaming the waters.
NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water, Niall Blair said shark nets were one of the many devices being rolled out.
"We tag the sharks and then release them to track them (and) to know more about their movements," he told Macquarie Radio.
In addition the the snared sharks, the Department of Primary Industries reportedly spotted from the air a 3.5-metre great white shark near The Pass in Byron Bay.
Byron Police and said to have worked with surf lifesavers to move the shark away from the area.
The big effort against sharks is taking place after a number of recent attacks in the area. There have been six shark attacks between Ballina and Byron Bay in the past year, according to Fairfax Media.