GPS Tracking Enables Sharks to Send Out Warning Alert Tweets on Twitter
5 Jun 2014
With GPS tracking technology, sharks in Western Australia are able to send tweets out about their location and movements.
Modern tracking technology with global positioning software (GPS) and social media have combined in a study being conducted by government researchers in Western Australia. A total of 338 sharks have been tagged with these GPS trackers in order to monitor their location.
The GPS trackers are programmed so that when a shark is a half mile from the beach, an alert tweet is sent out to let others know about its proximity to the shore. The tweet feed is located under Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s twitter feed, which includes the location and shark breed, as well as the time detected.
The reasoning behind this tracking project is that there have been more fatal attacks in Australia than other countries by sharks since 2011, with six fatal attacks in just two years.
The most recent shark attack was only a few months ago in November 2013. Previously, there was really no way to know where a shark was and when it was close to the beach.
Now with the tagged sharks, people know instantly if a shark is nearby as an alert is sent via Twitter in real time. Most people nowadays have the Twitter app on their phone, so if they get signal while they’re at that beach, it could help save their life.
Not only is this helping residents of Western Australia remain safe, but the researchers are also using the data they receive to study the sharks, particularly whaler sharks, great white sharks, and tiger sharks.
The research manager for the Shark Spotters program in South Africa, Alison Kock, told reporters:
“This kind of innovative thinking is exactly what we need more of when it comes to finding solutions t human-wildlife conflict.”
She also makes sure to warn local residents that not every shark was tagged, so they still need to be on alert, even if no Twitter alerts were sent out.
Due to the high amount of severe and fatal attacks by sharks in this part of Australia, the local government wanted to bait and kill any shark swimming near the shore. However, shark biologists were against the plan and it was put to a halt when they realized they could use acoustic transmitters to track their movement and alert people when they were nearby.
They are also hoping to get more data and analyze it in regards to the sharks’ movement, activity and behaviors. They want to find out exactly when, why and how often some of the sharks reach the beach and what is motivating them.
If locals of Western Australia want to get the alerts, they just need to go theSurf Life Saving Western Australia’s Twitter feed to follow it. The feed is updated every time a tagged shark is close to the beach.
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