A new study published shows LED lights may prevent great white shark attacks on surfers and kayakers. Australian researchers found seal-shaped decoys with underside lighting blocked the view of silhouettes against the sunlight above, deterring the attacks by obstructing the predator’s vision.
Australian researchers, who spent years towing seal-shaped decoys through waters infested with great white sharks, have determined that wrapping the lures in very bright lights — sort of like aquatic Christmas trees — seems to turn sharks away.
That’s because, from below, sharks are accustomed to seeing the dark silhouettes of their prey backlighted by the sun.
Australian researchers looking for ways to stop shark attacks have found bright lights could be the answer in a study in great white-inhabited waters off the South African coast.
A keen surfer and research fellow in comparative neurobiology, Dr Laura Ryan was studying the visual system of great white sharks when she began thinking about how what she was learning could be used to protect people.
Fixing LED strip lights to the bottom of surfboards could deter attacks by great white sharks, Australian scientists say.
A study conducted in Mossel Bay, South Africa involved towing seal-shaped boards fitted with different configurations of lights behind a boat to see which attracted the most attention.
The researchers from Macquarie University in New South Wales say the lights distorted the silhouette of the their "decoys" on the ocean's surface and limited the ability of the great whites to see against the sunlight.
Lights could prove a non-invasive means of shark restraint, unlike nets or drones, they added.
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