Shark Attack Prevention Device SharkStopper Attempts To ‘Shoo Away’ Great White Sharks

A shark attack prevention device calling itself the SharkStopper is hoping that swimmers and surfers will pick up their gadget, but how can you shoo away a great white shark?

In a related report by The Inquisitr, the great white shark named Katharine was tagged as part of a system that allows scientists to track them for study, in addition to allowing beaches to be alerted when she strays too near. Another piece of shark attack prevention tech called the Clever Buoy uses smart sonar to warn all swimmers in the area if a shark happens to be coming in toward the beach.

Over on their website, SharkStopper explains how their tech could prevent shark attacks on an individual level.

“Sharks have an inner ear made up of three semicircular canals. Inside each canal are four sensory areas, responsible for both balance and sound perception. Sharks hear (or interpret) sounds with frequencies ranging from 10Hz to 1KHz, and are especially responsive to sounds 500Hz or lower. Based on these facts and many field tests conducted around the world, we found a particular frequency range and modulation that was effective against many species of sharks. The species of sharks that we repelled include, but are not limited to, great white, bull, tiger, hammerhead, black tip, lemon, nurse, sand and Caribbean reef sharks.”

In the end, the shark attack prevention device used a combination of their frequency and recordings of a specific pod of killer whales that could repel sharks. The developers of SharkStopper have been testing their Personal Shark Repellent (PSR) devices long the open waters across Bimini, Mexico, Hawaii, and Florida, which recently had a noticeable spike in shark attacks. Whenever someone was using the device, they could not detect the presence of sharks in the area. While some may argue that’s just luck, when they did their field tests, they also attempted to lure out sharks with bait and still didn’t see any fins break the surface of the ocean.

The shark attack prevention device is part of a Kickstarter campaign with a pledge goal of $48,500. They have 33 days left to go and they’re about a third of the way to their financial goal.