First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.
A device the size of a cellphone could stop one of humankind’s most feared predators from taking a bite out of surfers, divers and swimmers.
The device is a personal electronic deterrent and new research, published by Australia’s Royal Society Open Science journal, shows it is 60% successful in preventing shark attacks.
It works by emitting a strong electric field that interferes with the shark’s electro-receptive system, which the predator uses to find prey. The shark only feels this electric field when it is up close and is about to bite.
Technology Might Save Us From Shark Bites
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Rising Number of Shark Attacks in Australia Reveals A Darker Story
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Below the surface: reports of rising shark attack don t tell the whole story Jamie Waters © Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Brandi Mueller/Getty Images
Call it pessimism or a remarkable sixth sense, but Chantelle Doyle always had a feeling that a shark was going to bite her one day – and she was proved right.
One morning in August 2020, while surfing off Port Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, the 35-year-old was paddling out when a 2.5m juvenile great white shark launched itself at her. It knocked her off her board and clamped on to her leg, readjusting its grip three times.