a jet ski. so, they would launch a ski, go over to the area, search for an hour, then they d come back and report. reporter: that process would take about two hours. the drone takes just 20 minutes. because of that efficiency, bailey says he expects other lifeguard agencies to invest in drones as well. giving more lifeguards a bird s-eye view of a great white encounter. rob hayes reporting for abc news. some people don t leave without their drone. ginger zee doesn t go to starbucks without her drone. she does not. it s part of her standard equipment now. like every new thing that comes along, there s some upsides and some downsides and that will be the case with drones. we need one for the show. i would love that. i would love to use the drone right now to fly you can t fly one in manhattan. right? i m not quite sure about that. yeah, we would get in trouble for that. that s the news for this half hour. remember to follow us on facebook. hour. remember to follow us on
of the seal beach marine safety department says finding those sharks was especially easy because of this. a phantom drone the lifeguard agency had just started using to check out shark reports. we launched the drone and in about five minutes we spotted five or six sharks. we went down, zoomed in and filmed them. and then we cruised the whole area. and i think we probably saw about ten sharks in total. reporter: drones have generated some public outcry, raising privacy concerns. bailey says the department s drone will only be used over the water and for official business. beach goers we spoke with called the eye in the sky an added safety tool. no one wants to get eaten by a shark so, yeah drones are good. my kids like to boogie board and i get scared not being in out there with them, so, yeah i would like to know if there are sharks out there. reporter: at $1400, the drone isn t exactly cheap, but the chief will tell you, it sure saves a lot of time and money compared to the
for cooling relief in a snap. not long ago drones were simply a novelty of technology but now they re quickly becoming a common sight for better or worse. recent events along the shoreline involving sharks, the latest use of drones might be a lifesaver. reporter: a fairly common day at seal beach. blue skies, gentle waves and a lifeguard keeping an eye on things. but what he can t see from the guard stand is easily spotted from above. we want to warn the public that we spotted sharks in the area. reporter: chief joel bailey