In Western Australia, researchers have tagged 338 sharks with acoustic transmitters that tweet out messages to the Surf Life Saving Western Australia Twitter feed when the sharks are approximately half a mile away from a beach. The tweets concerning the sharks include details on the shark’s size, location and breed.
The researchers have tagged great whites, whaler sharks and tiger sharks in an effort to reduce the number of shark attacks on beach goers. Since 2011, Australia has more fatal shark attacks than anywhere else in the world.
Since the tweets about the sharks’ locations will be coming in real time, potential attacks can be minimized if people are paying attention to their Twitter feeds.
While this innovative idea certainly will help in protecting against shark attacks, marine biologists agree the tweets won’t be enough to completely protect swimmers. Hopefully, tagging sharks will be the first step in a much bigger process of protecting humans and their fatal encounters with the beasts of the ocean.
