Researchers at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia are seeking to create a kevlar-like wetsuit that could protect surfers and divers in the event of a shark attack. Photo: Austin Neill/Unsplash
Researchers at Flinders University in the South Australian city of Adelaide are hard at work testing a Kevlar-like fabric that could protect surfers and divers in the event of a shark attack.
Countless products have emerged in recent years touting their capabilities to repel or deter different species of sharks, but even the most effective repellent isn’t 100-percent effective. That raises the question, in the event of an attack, is there a way to minimize injury?
Enter Charlie Huveneers, associate professor at Flinders University and member of the research team seeking to develop a bite-resistant wetsuit.
“The majority of fatalities from shark bites are due to blood loss or the shock resulting from blood loss,” he explains. “If we can reduce that blood loss from minimizing injuries and rapid emergency responses, we can hopefully increase the survival rates of people bitten by sharks.”
A shark’s bite may still be strong enough to break bones, but Huveneers and his team’s primary aim is to create a wetsuit that is difficult for a shark’s serrated teeth to penetrate and therefore prevents the lacerations and tearing injuries that lead to significant blood loss.
The team at Flinders University is far from the first group to seek to develop an impenetrable suit to ward against a fatal shark bite.
Over the years, numerous innovators have filed patents on diving suits that look like they’re straight out of the middle ages – complete with spikes and protective metal plates.
More recently, a company called Neptunic has brought stainless steel and titanium “sharksuits” to market. But the chainmail look and feel isn’t exactly conducive to surfing. Not to mention the suits run $5,000 for stainless steel and $25,000 for titanium.
According to 9News Australia, Flinders University will soon begin testing suits among shark populations off Australia’s Spencer Gulf. If early tests prove successful, it may only be a matter of time before every wetsuit brand jumps on board launching their own lines of shark-proof neoprene.
