A shark caught in a tangled web of netting off Bondi Beach

The 2.6m shark was discovered on Tuesday morning in the nets and was still there yesterday as the State Government announced an aerial shark patrol trial.

Experts yesterday said the Bondi shark was most likely a harmless - and endangered - grey nurse, but could be a mako. A large mako would be an unusual visitor so close to a Sydney beach, but the species likes cooler water and several upwellings have pushed cold water on to the city's coastline.

The shark will be retrieved this morning and identified.

This year, NSW's shark nets are being checked every 72 hours, instead of every 96 hours, to give trapped marine life a better chance of being freed alive. And, for the first time, both fixed-wing planes and helicopters will fly the coast spotting sharks. The air patrols are part of a trial which will cover 202km of NSW coast, including 51 netted beaches from Newcastle to Wollongong that also have shark nets.

"Sharks spotted will be reported direct to lifesaving bodies so that swimmers are notified almost instantly," Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said yesterday.