Let there be lighting!
That’s what sharks experts are saying after finding that , LED lighting on surfboards , could be the key to preventing great white shark wounds.
The findings of a six-year fish study, which may transform surfboard design, have been released by Australian scientists.
” We’ve been attempting to understand how predators perceive their prey,” the group said. And with an understanding of that, notice if we can make some fish barriers, which protect individuals and even fish”, said , Macquarie University , Professor Nathan Hart.
The researchers studied how signals affect great white sharks in Mossel Bay, South Africa, to test their theories.
The researchers observed how the fish responded to a seal-shaped foaming fake while operating a boat.
” What we found up is if you put lights on the bottom of the harpoons, the predators leave them alone”, Hart said. We believe that this reveals a lot about fish ‘ perceptions of the world and how they identify and pursue their prey.
” But it also likely gives us an insight into how we can create a non-lethal fish barrier, especially for surfing, “he added.
The sea counterillumination trend serves as the foundation for this lighting strategy.
Some animals ‘ undersides emit light, which obscures their image from a predator looking down on them.
The shark does n’t recognize the surfboard’s silhouette as prey, according to Hart’s claim that” we have shown these lights break it up into smaller pieces.”
” It’s kind of like an darkness cloak but with the exception that we’re splitting the image, the visual image, up into smaller pieces so it does n’t all vanish, “he added”. And to achieve this effect, the lamps must be very bright.
Macquarie University Dr. Laura Ryan’s earlier studies found that fish are perhaps white. Additionally, her research team discovered that fish have a lower level of detail than humans.
” They’re truly excellent at detecting an image from far ahead, but not so good at seeing the fine details of that thing,” Ryan said.
By inserting LEDs into the middle of a surf, we’re trying to convert mark decoys to a surfboard prototype, she continued.
Although sharks rarely bite people on the head, individuals take the risk of getting hurt in the sea.
” What we do n’t want to see is people getting hurt, and we do n’t want to see sharks getting killed as a result of that,” Hart said”. We’re therefore very optimistic that this technology, along with others, can be used to lessen the chance of getting a shark bit and create diving into the water safer for people.
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