Australia to test new technology after wave of shark attacks

Published September 29, 2015
"Sharks have seven senses. We don't clearly know how sharks completely sense their environment but we know much more than we did 10 years ago," Marine biologist Daryl McPhee of Bond University told AFP. — AFP/File
"Sharks have seven senses. We don't clearly know how sharks completely sense their environment but we know much more than we did 10 years ago," Marine biologist Daryl McPhee of Bond University told AFP. — AFP/File

SYDNEY: Australian shark experts will test cutting-edge technology — including electrical barriers powered by wave energy — following an "unprecedented" series of attacks on swimmers.

The country has one of the world's highest incidences of shark attacks and researchers from around the world met in Sydney on Tuesday at a meeting organised in part to address community fears.

"What we've seen is pretty unprecedented," New South Wales (NSW) state Premier Mike Baird told the conference of a string of attacks in eastern Australia which left one dead and seven injured.

A Japanese surfer died in February after his legs were torn off by a shark but there have been other serious attacks up and down the more than 2,000-kilometre-long NSW coast.

There have been 13 attacks in the state so far this year, compared to three in 2014.

"Ultimately, we've moved from a position in some parts of the coast where the coastline was joy to fear, and we need to take that away," Baird said, adding that his government hoped to test some of the recommended technologies during the upcoming summer.

"The decision-making process to roll out the technologies will be on the basis of science, it will not be knee-jerk, it will not be in relation to any form of populist outcry."

Baird — an avid surfer who has ruled out culling sharks as an option — said he hoped experts would find ways to balance the need to protect humans against reducing the harm to marine life caught in barriers such as nets.

Deterrent technologies set to be reviewed include electrical barriers that can be powered by wave energy, as well as personal devices that surfers and swimmers can wear.

Detection methods include a smart drumline where sharks are removed from hooks before they die, and the "Clever Buoy," which uses sonar technology to search for shark-sized objects.

Marine biologist Daryl McPhee of Bond University, who helped the state government compile a preliminary list of options, said the recent innovations had increased researchers' understanding of shark behaviour.

"Sharks have seven senses. We don't clearly know how sharks completely sense their environment but we know much more than we did 10 years ago," he told AFP.

"We're able to use the information to potentially design better deterrence technologies."

Read: Australian beaches closed after another shark attack

Must Read

May 12, 2007 — the day Karachi went berserk

May 12, 2007 — the day Karachi went berserk

Retired SHC judge recalls the bloody Saturday when the city was under siege for nearly 24 hours and held hostage by forces in the face of whom even jurists and law enforcers were helpless.

Opinion

Editorial

A turbulent 2023
Updated 12 May, 2024

A turbulent 2023

Govt must ensure judiciary's independence, respect for democratic processes, and protection for all citizens against abuse of power.
A moral victory
12 May, 2024

A moral victory

AS the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted on Friday in favour of granting Palestine greater rights at the...
Hope after defeat
12 May, 2024

Hope after defeat

ON Saturday, having fallen behind Japan in the first quarter of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final, Pakistan showed...
Taxing pensions
Updated 11 May, 2024

Taxing pensions

Tax reforms have failed to deliver because of distortions created by the FBR bureaucracy through SROs, apparently for personal gains.
Orwellian slide
11 May, 2024

Orwellian slide

IN recent years, Pakistan has made several attempts at introducing an overarching mechanism through which to check...
Terror against girls
11 May, 2024

Terror against girls

ONCE again, the ogre of terrorism is seeking the sacrifice of schoolgirls. On Wednesday, just days after the...