It’s been almost 12 months since Mick Fanning’s near death experience at J-Bay. The Australian’s ‘encounter’ with a great white shark was arguably the most harrowing footage ever to be beamed around the world in the history of the sport.
We sat slack jawed as an outpouring of emotion spilled over from the Top 34 and those personnel who witnessed the event first hand. There were tears, hugs and a helluva lot of gratitude that one of surfing’s most likeable characters wasn’t taken before our eyes.
Incredibly Derek Hynd returned to the water just hours after the incident took place.Memes circulated, KFC created an inappropriate parody, Mick Fanning was a household name overnight and earned a rep for being tougher than Chuck Norris.
Then there were the rumours. ‘J-Bay was going to be pulled from the 2016 Tour schedule’
Tracks correspondent Craig Jarvis wrote of a secret meeting between WSL officials and surfers in France as to whether J-Bay should stay or go. Both Mick and Julian voted yes, while two Brazilian surfers had voted in favour of boycotting the event.
“They’re both Brazilian, both goofy-footers, neither of them are rookies, and neither are consistent standouts at J-Bay. One of them may or may not have a world title,” wrote Jarvis in an article for STAB.
The vote for J-Bay to remain on the tour schedule prevailed, however, not without some assurances from the sport’s governing body. Surfers needed to be protected.
Now a Perth based Australian company, Shark Mitigation Systems, has been tasked with that responsibility. Their ‘Clever Buoy’ bobs in the water and is able to detect sharks based on their unique movements and sends alerts back to shore anytime a shark is nearby.
From the press release:
Clever Buoy is a non-invasive, near shore shark detection system, utilizing state of the art sonar transducers, specialist software and communications equipment to relay critical information in real time to authorities responsible for beach safety.
Clever Buoy is designed to be deployed beyond the surf zone and to scan for marine life. When a target is determined to be a shark, the designated authorities are immediately notified of both the target and its location.
Since the completion of its successful Bondi trial, and an official endorsement by Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA), SM8 has fielded inquiries from governments and private organisations around the world, interested in deploying Clever Buoy systems at their local beaches.
The J-Bay event is the company’s first international deployment of the ‘Clever Buoy’ system. It was previously, and successfully, trialled at Sydney’s Bondi Beach from February to April earlier this year.
Shark Mitigation Systems co-founder Craig Anderson is confident the ‘Clever Buoy’ will protect the world’s best from ocean predators who routinely patrol the J-Bay line up.
“This will help place our technology on the world stage, showing what it can do to keep surfers and other ocean users safe in the water,” said Anderson in a press release.
It will be interesting to the see the ‘Clever Buoy’ in action. Locals can attest that that sharks often cruise up and down the point. Does that mean surfers will be alerted to vacate the lineup each time the buoy is pinged? For how long? How many alerts will result in competition declared abandoned for the day? What if that prevents them from running the event?
The WSL now have the delicate task of keeping the anxieties of the Top 34 at bay as both core surf and mainstream media tune in to the most talked about event of the year.
