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# 'Invisibility' wetsuit promises protection in land of killer sharks

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The wetsuits are billed as "significantly" reducing the risk of shark attack (AFP/Getty Images)

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- Western Australia, Australia

By Amy Hubbard

July 18, 2013, 5:52 p.m.

Can a wetsuit protect a diver from sharks? In Western Australia, where shark attacks (although still rare) have risen sharply, officials and scientists alike are testing whether the answer may lie in fashion.

So, when it comes to avoiding sharks, is it better to stand out or to fade into the background?

A "conspicuous" wetsuit with big white and deep-blue stripes on the arms and legs makes a diver obvious to sharks. A "cryptic" version has been likened to the Harry Potter invisibility cloak. It comes in shades of white, gray and aqua.

PHOTOS: Close brushes with shark

Will either work?

"I kind of have to chuckle," said shark expert Chris Lowe, a professor at Cal State Long Beach.

"First of all, we really don't know what motivates sharks to occasionally bite people," said Lowe, who heads the university's Sharklab. "That makes it kind of tough to come up with a 'fits all' solution -- be it an electric, chemical repellent, visual discourager or purported invisible cloak."

Second, he said, "one of the favorite prey items of tiger sharks in Australia is sea snakes." These poisonous snakes have a banding pattern. "Imagine swimming or paddling around looking like a giant sea snake. ... I think I would just prefer to look like a human in the water. We already have a very low chance of being bitten."

The wetsuits were developed by Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) in Perth, Australia, in conjunction with scientists from the University of Western Australia and Ray Smith, who was the original Quiksilver brand designer.

According to SAMS, wearing the suits should "significantly" reduce the risk of being attacked.

Some work by allowing the wearer "to effectively blend with background colors in the water," making it hard for the shark to "detect or focus." The blue suit can't be seen by the shark, the makers maintain, because the fish are color blind. Others work by making the wearer "highly visible" and "totally unlike any normal prey." In other words, the suit is supposed to scream, I am not a seal.

The Western Australia government was among investors in the project, according to SAMS, providing funds for initial research and development.

Perhaps the project seemed a better solution to officials than their original idea: Kill the sharks.

As the Los Angeles Times reported last fall, Western Australia reacted to the surge in fatalities from shark attacks with a plan to kill any shark that swam close to the beach, even great whites, which it usually protected as an endangered species.

Conservationists protested, and the clash brought up the often-pondered question: Is the risk of shark attacks on humans really that significant?

The headlines are horrifying. "Shark Bites 15-Year-Old French Girl in Half;" "Shark Attacks Pacifica Kayaker With 'Pink Gums and His Teeth Bared';" "Great White Shark Gets Head Into Shark Diving Cage."

But shark experts have long maintained that the risk of attack is relatively low.

"It's far more dangerous driving to the beach" than swimming in the ocean, Lowe said.

Still, run-ins between humans and sharks have become more common -- and Australia is notorious.

Lowe is among authors of the study "Responding to the Risk of White Shark Attack," which shows that from 1876 to 2008 there were 346 unprovoked white shark attacks around the world.

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Derekgrr at 9:13 PM July 18, 2013

When anyone goes into the ocean even if it's just waddling and putting body parts around the surf they are venturing in a wild kingdom that is akin to a human venturing into the wild savannah of Africa where all sorts of wild animals roam. The chance encounter in either situation may be slim of bumping into a maneater but still just by venturing into that environment there still is a risk.

pissOffnosey at 8:52 PM July 18, 2013

Well....If you are going to make a suit that mimicks ANYTHING it had better be an ORCA!

Unless great whites are interested in being snapped in half they steer clear of Killer Whales.

Buttercupnb at 8:31 PM July 18, 2013

, "one of the favorite prey items of tiger sharks in Australia is sea snakes."

=========================

I thought the SAME thing...the striped one looks like an"Eat Me" suit!.

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