Can drones warn us about sharks (and help protect them, too)?
While many of us live in colder climates where shark attacks are not so much of a worry, it’s a fear of thousands of surfers, paddleboarders, windsurfers and kiters all over the world. Until now, the main shark defense mechanisms have ranged from avoiding the water at certain times when feeding is more prevalent (sunrise and sunset), taking off shiny jewellery and even anti-shark bracelets or knives.
Now, there is a new kid on the block – SharkEye. Douglas McCauley of the University of California and his team, toegther with their partner Salesforce AI Research, have come up with a solution that they claim has 95% accuracy (yes!).
So how does it work? SharkEye flies drones on standardized survey flights to capture video footage of nearshore waters where sharks may be present, and then uses Salesforce AI to scan the video to automatically detect great white sharks in the footage (with 95% accuracy). This information is then passed to local public safety officials and communities, and contributes to a database for marine scientists to better predict when and where heightened great white shark activity will occur – and to inform conservation efforts.
At this point, it’s worth mentioning that shark attacks on humans are incredibly rare – in fact, the World Health Organisation has calculated that mosquitoes kill more people every day than sharks do in a century. When it comes to worrying about the dangers of sharks to humans, the reverse is true. From habitat loss, to overfishing and illegal fishing, shark populations are declining. Sadly, it’s estimated 100 million sharks are killed by humans every year.
For this reason, it’s vital that we also focus on protecting sharks and their habitats from humans. And drones can help here, too. Salesforce AI Research and San Diego State University are using drones in the same way to monitor the prevalence of great whites, which are classified as a vulnerable species. This data is incredibly useful for marine scientists to understand shark habits, which can then predict shark activity, and overall help conservation efforts. This method can also be applied to monitoring how sharks respond not only to human threats, but also climate change.
Beyond shark wellbeing in itself, sharks play an important part in the ocean ecosystem, sitting at the top of the food chain. They maintain the species below them and serve as an indicator for ocean health. The loss of sharks has led to the decline in coral reefs, seagrass beds and more. For this reason, we hope that shark populations continue to grow – for their sake, and ours 🙂
