At least if you are wearing an electronic shark-repelling device, it is safe to go back into the water. The use of such devices, according to modeling advice, could prevent more than a thousand deaths and serious injuries in Australia over the next 50 years alone.
Perhaps most importantly, they can stop the panic that leads to destructive shark cools and other harmful reactions. Even in Australia, where going to the beach is part of the national identity, sharks represent a minor threat. It often said that more people die in driving accidents on the beach than in shark attacks – and whether the numbers verified or not, even coastal communities can lose many more people on the streets.
Sadly, people are notoriously bad at making reasonable assessments of threats. The fear of eating bloody big fish is so deep that it leads us to all sorts of bad decisions. These include destroying the local economy due to recent single shark attacks, or killing the ultimate predators of the health of the marine environment because one of their numbers beats someone.
Ironically, the worst reactions usually come with those that have little real shark exposure. Sharp reactions to shark attacks do not work, causing a lot of damage or both. Therefore, Corey Bradshaw, a professor at Flinders University in Australia, is keen to promote not only human lives, but also to prevent the additional reactions that result from frequent shark attacks.
In the Royal Society of Open Science, Bradshaw and co-authors modeled how much they would benefit from those at risk of attacked by using electronic devices that interfere with electroreception sharks to maximize the accuracy of their attack. Many of these devices are for sale, some of which appear to be only marginally effective. However, Bradshaw is part of a team that previously had a model e. Percentage measured as repelling. The study involved somewhat artificial conditions, with baits enticing sharks towards unfamiliar surfboards instead of real surfboards.
As necessary as it was in principle, this could affect the reliability of the test, although Bradshaw thinks that the actual effectiveness is more likely to be higher than the estimated rate. Top-level repulsion devices sometimes score better in other studies. Working with a Percentage prevented Effectiveness; Bradshaw modeled the number of attacks that could prevent if the devices achieved a certain level of use in a shark attack at risk.
The paper acknowledges that universal use of detergents will not happen, but it expected that the current price of each device would reduce by about $500, making it more common for them to be at risk. Australia may have a reputation as a shark attack center, but there have actually been more deaths in the United States, though less per person. Meanwhile, surfing so many deaths on Reunion Island has banned. The team did not model the global implications of the use of resistance, but considered it as an Australian data indicator.
