Shark!
Smart Marine Systems, an Australian company that created an ingenious shark monitoring system called Clever Buoy, is trying to get their product in the water off Corona Del Mar State Beach in California. It’s been in use in Australia for some time now, a place where lots of people yell at each other about sharks.
“Kill ’em all!” some shout brandishing weapons and wearing faded blue jeans. “People before sharks!” The other side, of course, is often branded as liberal snowflakes with soggy bread bowls where their genitals should be. “It’s the sharks’ home!” they yell back brandishing flowers and wearing tie-dyed shirts. “Let them live!” They hear about the giant baited hooks dangling off drum lines that kill turtles and baby dolphins and humpback whales and every now and then, a shark or two, and freak out. “Surely there’s a better way!” they sob into their hands. “Live and let live!”
All of that, of course, is a very broad brush to paint over a nuanced and difficult conversation, but you get the general idea. But wait! What if I told you there WAS a better way? And what if I told you next that it’s already in Australia and now it’s launching in California? Would you be happy?
Clever Buoy (not to be confused with Clever Girl) is, as the name implies, a very clever buoy. “It uses a multi-beam sonar which is a relatively new sonar technology, coupled with some software which is very much like facial recognition technology for marine life,” said Craig Anderson, one of the company founders, but not the style-guru on a Hypto-Krypto. “Anything that is greater than two meters and is self-propelled will be detected… because the history of shark attacks around the world tells us that with anything less than two meters, you’re unlikely to die.” Anderson says the Clever Buoy has a 90% success rate when it comes to detecting sharks.
In a few words, Clever Buoy “sees” a shark, shoots a signal up to a satellite, which then shoots a message down to an app on a lifeguard’s phone which he hopefully doesn’t have on silent. According to the company, “the system creates a ‘virtual net’ at the deployment locations and once an object is detected in the area, the software interrogates the target’s swimming pattern to determine the type of object and potential species.”
Well, now the company wants to bring their ocean monitoring to Corona Del Mar State Beach in California, which was where Maria Korcsmaros was attacked a few years back. There’s a catch, though—they need the public’s help. They’ve started a crowdfunding campaign to help with the distribution plans.
“I’m passionate about safety in the California surf, relating to sharks. I saw this same pattern happen in my home breaks of Western Australia where now there have been 15 fatalities since 2002”, said Ian Cairns in a hilariously forced promotional video. “Corona Del Mar is key because this is the site of the 2016 shark attack on Maria Korcsmaros, which she fortunately survived. Because of this attack and the fact that the beach is well defined, with rocks to the South and a Break-wall to the North, gives us an ideal location for a demonstrative Clever Buoy installation.”
The founders are excited about the possible expansion into a new market. “We are really excited about the opportunity here in the United States. Our non-invasive technology will allow beachgoers to have real-time knowledge of shark activity and permit lifeguards to operate a safer beach. A first-hand demonstration of the Clever Buoy will allow us to showcase the capabilities of the technology” said founder Craig Anderson.
The end goal of the crowdfunding campaign is $25,000, which seems like a lot. But if you’re a regular at Corona Del Mar and worry about sharks all the time, how much is your peace of mind worth? You can put a dollar figure on it HERE.
