It is the national sport par excellence in Australia. A real way of life that can also be dangerous for surfers when you know the creatures that inhabit Australian waters. According to the Taronga Conservation Society, more than 1,200 shark attacks have been recorded since 1971 in the largest country in Oceania, including 255 fatal ones, with sharks often confusing the silhouette of a surfer with that of a seal. However, research published this Tuesday by scientists could change the situation and make surfing safer. How ? By installing bright lights on his board.
According to biologist Laura Ryan of Australia's Macquarie University, boards covered in bright horizontal lights are less likely to be attacked by great white sharks. The lights distort the silhouette of the board on the surface of the ocean, which would indeed make it less appetizing to sharks. “The fear of white sharks has been around for a long time and part of the reason is that we don't understand them very well,” says Laura Ryan.
Prototypes soon to be built
The study, published in the journal Current Biologywas carried out in the waters of Mossel Bay, in South Africa, an area very popular with great white sharks. The scientists used seal-shaped decoys configured with different LED lights before towing them behind a boat to see which object attracted the most attention.
The brightest lights deterred sharks the most, the study found, while vertical lights were less effective than horizontal ones. After these results, more promising than expected, Laura Ryan now plans to build prototypes that can be used under kayaks or surfboards.
To monitor sharks, Australia already has advanced devices, including drones, anti-shark nets or a marking system that alerts authorities when a shark is near a busy beach.
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