The Education Department paused sea activities after 32-year-old Bridgette O’Shannessy was attacked by a shark while diving off Port Noarlunga beach in Adelaide on Friday.

But Education Minister Blair Boyer announced on Monday the department will look to get the activities back on as early as next week after Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said daily aerial patrols would start on Saturday instead of the scheduled December 1 start date.

Szakacs told reporters the measure would provide “assurance and peace of mind” to beachgoers, despite no advice there was an increased risk of shark attack.

Opposition Leader David Speirs called the school beach ban “absolutely ridiculous”.

The former surf lifesaver said shark attacks were incredibly rare and halting the classes would increase the chance of young people drowning.

“At the end of the day, denying young people the opportunity to learn about water safety and aquatic skills puts them more at risk in the summer months,” Speirs said.

Boyer agreed on the need for kids to develop experience in the ocean but said it was important to look at the department’s decision in the context of Friday’s attack.

“You’re not the people who are taking calls from concerned parents,” he said.

“The reality is that on Friday we had three schools down on the water at Port Noarlunga when the shark attack occurred.

“Given that we were going to have kids back at the beach on Monday morning, schools were seeking advice and the department was trying to operate in a fast-moving environment about what to do and made a decision to put a pause on activities.”

O’Shannessy is the third victim of a serious shark attack in South Australian waters in just over a month.

Pamela Cook, 64, suffered serious leg injuries after she was bitten on the southeast coast on October 2, and 55-year-old Tod Gendle was taken by a suspected great white while surfing on the west coast later that month.

The incidents follow the suspected fatal attack of 46-year-old teacher Simon Baccanello in May who disappeared without a trace while surfing at Walkers Rock Beach, about 365km west of Adelaide.

Speirs said aerial patrols were not a bad thing but they would not move the dial on beach safety.

“If it moves down the coast and the shark happens to be in seaweed at that point in time then it pokes its nose out of the seaweed, well they’ve missed that opportunity,” he said.

Surf Life Saving SA chief executive Damien Marangon has recommended measures including tagging sharks and deploying beacons along the coast to prevent them approaching beaches.

-with AAP