The invention uses an electric field to keep sharks and rays away from fishermen’s hooks, clearing the way for tuna to be caught instead.
A new gadget takes advantage of sharks’ sixth sense to send the fish scurrying away from deadly hooks.
Whether sharks and rays would be repelled or attracted by the electric fields generated by SharkGuard devices was an open question. The animals use their extra sense when hunting to detect the small electrical fields given off by prey.
Hooks with the electric repellant reduced catch rates of blue sharks by 91 percent compared with standard hooks, dropping from an average of 6.1 blue sharks caught per 1,000 hooks to 0.5 sharks. And 71 percent fewer pelagic stingrays were caught using SharkGuard hooks, going from seven captured rays per 1,000 hooks on average to two rays.
“It’s definitely a notable and significant effect,” says Shiffman, who was not involved with the study. “If [the devices] went into effect across the fishing fleet that interacts with blue sharks, it would certainly be good news for [them].”
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