Surfer's Shark Deterrence Band Saves Him

0:00Welcome to Sydney News Today, two minutes of news that mattered to Sydney. A surfer named Alex Preston had a hard stop and close call with a suspected bull shark at D.Y. beach in mid-February. Beach-camera footage showed the shark lunging at his legs as he rode a wave, but he paddled away safely with his dorsal fin slicing the surface behind. Him. Preston only realized the danger later when reviewing the video at home, and he credits a shark deterrence ban on his ankle for possibly keeping it. This incident came weeks after an 11-year-old was bumped by a shark at the same spot, and not far from a fatal attack at Long Reef last September. Meanwhile, New South Wales has seen a string of shark encounters over the past six months, prompting more ocean users to turn to these bands. Surfers and divers like Nick Rendell, who works in Sydney Harbor's murky waters, now where the bands religiously, for peace of mind, Holly Cummins, who nearly faced a two-meter bull shark off the South Coast last month, says hers likely changed the outcome.

1:02Many feel combining the devices with shark behavior, knowledge reduces risks. The bands create an electromagnetic field that messes with sharks' electroreceptors, causing avoidance from half a meter to two meters away, based on tests in Western Australia. Sales jump 30% in Australia this January amid attacks, including a tragic one on a 12-year-old in Sydney Harbor. This, like a University of New South Wales professor, calls them a smart tool that disturbs shark navigation without the by-catch issues of nets. While no device eliminates all danger, these bands work best against bull sharks, behind several recent bites and clubs are showing interest. Fearing them with smarter water choices, points to safer surfing ahead.