We can protect ourselves from sharks and still protect our seas

The Margaret River Pro — a surfing equivalent of the Australia Open — gets underway today in the magnificent waters of the southwest of Western Australia; waters known as much for their sharks as their waves.

A team of scientists predicts that over the next 45 years, about 1,800 people could fall victim to shark attack in Australia. They propose equipping everyone with a personal shark deterrent device in the hope of saving perhaps a thousand people. The most effective shark deterrent device reduces the risk of attack by about 60%. So, the widespread distribution of this product could be a good investment for a government trying to find an environmentally palatable solution. But, there are problems with the device, which…