Shark-Human Conflict

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

Dr Sara Andreotti Interviewed by Nicolene Olckers

Over the last decade, shark related accidents involving swimmers and surfers became widespread, receiving extensive media and movie attention With the steady increase in human recreational use of beaches at the beginning of the twentieth century, the general public became more exposed to interactions with sharks, sometimes with fatal results

Australia started implementing a policy of "the more sharks we kill, the fewer shark human encounters we are going to have" in 1937 South Africa followed suit in 1950, and Reunion Island in 2014. The newest to pursue this line of thinking is New Caledonia which implemented similar policies in 2020

It is difficult to believe that in our time, when we pay more attention to sustainability and nature conservation, we still have countries that are killing marine life for fear of negative encounters with sharks

The current culling methods need a physical separation between beachgoers and sharks Shark culling policies are carried out by fishing the local

bull sharks and tiger sharks or by deploying shark nets and drumlines Drumlines consist of heavily baited hooks deployed to fish, primarily sharks In New South Wales, Australia, 65% of shark bites occur at netted beaches. Shark nets also resulted in the large scale, unjustified killing of other marine animals, such as whales, turtles and dolphins

WHAT IS THE SHARKSAFE BARRIER?

The SharkSafe Barrier is a novel and eco friendly approach to the shark human conflict. It aims to prevent the trauma associated with shark accidents by keeping sharks and people separate from each other

It is the first eco friendly and shark specific technology to reduce shark human conflict It was developed from the sharks' point of view Produced and distributed by SharkSafe Barrier Pty Ltd, a start up company of Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The SharkSafe™ is designed to be a visual shark deterrent by mimicking a thick kelp forest It comprises vertical recycled plastic pipes coupled with a strong magnetic field. It was tested and proven to affect the swimming behaviour of large sharks

Adding strong barium ferrite magnets inside the outer row of tubes, it mimics the stalks of a dense kelp forest The vertical buoyant plastic pipes are anchored to the sea floor This design was scientifically tested from 2012 to 2016 and proven to prevent motivated sharks from entering a specific area, even when baited

This barrier provides a separation between humans and sharks, and there is no indiscriminate killing of marine life It is superior to exclusion nets (small mesh nets, deployed daily in good weather around swimmers only) since SharkSafe Barrier is shark specific; it works 24/7 and can withstand harsh sea conditions, culminating in low maintenance cost. Its design also provides passage to boats, oceanic debris and other animals not deterred by magnetism

Thanks to various sponsors, such as Shark Project, White Shark Diving Company, Dive Team, Just Africa Scuba, the Technology Innovation Agency, Stellenbosch University Faculty of Science and Itatile, The SharkSafe Barrier™ has been undergoing rigorous testing

Test and trial installations were conducted with 63 white sharks in South Africa and 48 bull sharks in The Bahamas from 2012 to 2016 The results of these tests were published in various peer reviewed scientific journals. To convince the sharks to cross the barrier, we deployed baits (fish buckets) inside the exclusion area In all instances where the barrier was built correctly, we never had a shark crossing it.

THE BARRIER AT REUNION ISLAND

A test barrier of 200 pipes was constructed in February 2019 to form a 10 meters x 10 meters square to replicate previously published experiments. The aim was to test the efficacy of the barrier in collaboration with the local Shark Security Centre to exclude local bull sharks from a food source These 200 pipes were deployed at sea for over two years and required minimal maintenance. They also created a fantastic artificial reef, showing that even hard corals could grow on the structure

This study was designed to exclude bull sharks from a baited area to support its full scale implementation Unfortunately, no bull sharks approached the experimental site Reunion's Shark Security Centre plans to replicate the experiment in New Caledonia, where more bull sharks were recently sighted

CURRENT WORK & TESTING

The SharkSafe Barrier™ team is working to adapt the current design to enable moreversatileinstallationsacrosstheglobe.Installationistestedatdifferentwater depthsandacrossotherseasubstrates.

Theanchoragesystemcouldbetestedwhenthesoutheaststormshitthebay One such test site is at Mackrel Beach (next to Glencairn, South Africa), where we installed a cluster of pipes in the shallow area and a few 6 meters deep water This site was selected to try out the latest design for deep sand anchorage. The pipes wereinstalledinNovember2021andrequiredminimalmaintenance.Thecondition and location provided a great testing ground to try out different options to secure our anchor grid and ultimately select the most cost efficient and robust option (DISCLOSURE:theinstallationinMackrelBeachdoesnotformanenclosedtokeep sharksout wearejusttestingthedesignwithafewpipes)

OTHER WORK IS NEEDED & THE PLETTENBERG BAY INCIDENTS

We are proud to announce that our team welcomed two new sea loving investors and directors, bringing additional strength, knowledge and skills to our team We are always busy expanding our network The World Economic Forum, the Solar Impulse Foundation and the National Science and Technology Forum have endorsedus.

Despite ongoing international work, we are focusing our attention closer to home, to Plettenberg Bay, following this year's shark accidents The Bitou council approved a SharkSafe Barrier installation in August this year We are now assisting thelocalcommunityinraisingtheneededfundstoproduceandinstallthebarrier.

"We sincerely hope that our technology will assist them to peacefully coexist with thewhitesharksusingtheareainthelongterm Whensharkattackshappen,itisa tragedy on many fronts We were pleasantly surprised with our interactions with the local community of Plettenberg Bay and the Bitou Council They showed genuine love for their marine environment and are looking for an eco friendly solutionthatwon'tdamagethelocalfauna,"saidSarah.

ShouldyouwishtogetinvolvedandassistwiththeworkinPlettenbergBay,please keep an eye on their website and social media pages to connect and support their effortstomakebeachessafer.

TO CONCLUDE

Bycatch, shark finning, overfishing of their food resources, climate change and pollution are among the biggest threats to shark populations worldwide Shark culling policies are a constant source of shark mortality. We can eliminate these destructivehabitsbychangingourways."WehopethatourworkontheSharkSafe Barrier™ will soon relegate shark nets from the history books, promote peaceful coexistence with sharks and prevent fear based conservation policies, said Dr SarahAndreotti

Website&SocialMediaLinks Website:wwwsharksafesolutioncom Facebook:@Sharksafebarrier LinkedIn:@sharksafe barrier rf Instagram:@sharksafebarrier Twitter:@SharksafeB

Website - https://www.sharksafesolution.com/