Dozens of sharks have been tagged and released in a trial of ‘smart’ drumlines off the NSW coast.

The satellite-linked drumlines were set near existing shark nets and alerted boat crews, who tagged and released sharks when caught.

A 3.5metre tiger shark caught off Sydney’s Palm Beach-Newport area was among the haul while a 2.5metre tiger shark was caught around Dee Why-Manly.

Fourteen sharks were nabbed in trials of the high-tech drumlines off Sydney beaches while elsewhere more than 40 sharks were snagged on the NSW south and north coasts and at Newcastle, according to data released by Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall on Sunday.

Species caught included great white sharks, bronze whalers, grey nurse and bull sharks, among others.

Queensland has about 400 traditional drumlines located near popular swimming beaches which often come under fire for the number of sharks killed. Last year more than 500 marine species – mostly sharks – were caught in the Sunshine State, with most of them dead or euthanased.

Mr Marshall said NSW’s 90-day trial was a success and helped to reduce shark incidents at beaches while treating the animals humanely.

“The beauty of this technology is that it not only prevents shark encounters but also allows scientists to monitor the tagged sharks and learn more about their behaviour,” Mr Marshall said in a statement.

The Department of Primary Industries will analyse the results before deciding on further steps, the statement said.

The high-tech drum lines were trialled from 10 February to 12 May at Palm, Whale, Avalon, Bilgola, Newport, Manly, Queenscliff, Freshwater, Curl Curl and Dee Why beaches near existing shark nets.

They were set 500 metres offshore every morning and collected at the end of each day.

The smart drumlines have two buoys and a satellite-linked communications unit, which will be attached to a hook baited with a single mullet.