A new device could lessen shark bycatch by 90%

(Introducing SharkGuard — the catchy-sounding device that could lessen shark bycatch by 90%: Scientists have designed a device that uses electrical pulses to deter sharks and stingrays from accidentally getting caught up in fishing gear, the Guardian reports. When clipped onto fishing lines, Fishtek Marine’s SharkGuard emits a short pulse that “temporarily overstimulates” the sensors around a shark’s nose and mouth acting as a deterrent. SharkGuard reduced by 91% the numbers of blue sharks and by 71% the numbers of stingrays accidentally caught in one recent study, published in a peer-reviewed journal. The device could be commercially available by 2024, Fishtek’s co-founder tells the news outlet.

But why do we care? Because fishing is decimating the shark population: An estimated 100 mn sharks, stingrays and skates (another kind of ray) are killed annually because of fishing and bycatch, the Guardian tells us. Oceanic sharks and rays have declined by over 71% since 1970 due to fishing, it adds. The general abundance of sharks in the Arabian Sea has experienced a perceived decline of around 80% since the late 1990s and the early 2000s, according to a study. The UAE runs an annual ban on shark fishing between March and June annually during spawning season to allow populations to recover and has permanently banned the import and re-export of shark fins in any form, according to The National.