Great White shark is being monitored

Grey nurse and great white sharks along the New South Wales mid-north coast will be electronically monitored as part of a new research project to map their movements.

Listening stations along the coast will record the tag number of each shark as it swims past, the water temperature and the swimming depth.

The Minister for Primary Industries, Ian Macdonald, says the research will help to protect the sharks.

He says the underwater listening devices will show where sharks gather and mate.

"Installing around 60 acoustic listening stations, we call them SEACAMS, along the coast and there'll be a number around the Seal Rocks and also up around the Solitary Islands Marine Park off Coffs Harbour," he said.

"They'll work in conjunction with tags that will be placed on both the grey nurse and great white sharks - both are endangered species.

"This will give us more information about the patterns and movements of these sharks."