Australian researchers have found a potential solution to reduce surfers coming into contact with Great White sharks — LED lights.
It comes after a team from Macquarie University tested light strips on seal-shaped boards in the ocean. This strategy “was found to work very well in deterring sharks.”
Findings published in the journal Current Biology suggest LED lights could also be used on surfboards to differentiate surfers from seals, which Great White sharks eat. Study co-author Professor Nathan Hart said the lights act “like an invisibility cloak”.
Further details
Other studies have found that Great White sharks are likely colour-blind and have low vision. As a result, these sharks are believed to look for food based on silhouettes.
The outline of a seal swimming near the surface closely resembles legs hanging off a surfboard. Researchers suspect that many Great White bites on humans occur when sharks mistake their silhouettes for food.
Professor Hart and study co-author Dr Laura Ryan then tested a solution using LED light strips to break up these silhouettes.
Findings
Over the course of six years, Dr Ryan and her team tested seal-shaped foam models in different waters. This was done by dragging them through the sea using a boat. The same tests were repeated with LED light strips attached to the models in different arrangements.
Further, researchers found that attaching strip lights perpendicular to the direction of travel was the most effective method to deter sharks.
Dr Ryan says the next stage is to “move from seal decoys into a surfboard prototype by embedding LEDs into the bottom of a surfboard.”
