Have you heard of Dorsal? Maybe you’ve seen those images floating around Facebook of a shark fin hanging off some familiar stretch of coast? For those who haven’t, Dorsal is a free website and mobile app providing verified reports about shark sightings at specific beaches around Australia (as well as Hawaii and the US). A relatively new service, it was launched in October of last year and has steadily been gaining popularity since. But with an alarming number of shark reports now arising out of certain areas, are local surfers taking advantage of the service or instead turning a blind eye?
With the primary aim of keeping ocean-goers updated and informed about the whereabouts of sharks, there’s no doubt that Dorsal is a useful and well-meaning service. Run by volunteers, the organisation fields reports from a variety of sources, verifies this information through a strict vetting process, then notifies its users. And with over 250,000 people now using the service world wide, it’s clearly providing a level of reassurance that didn’t previously exist.
‘I’d say 90% of the feedback we get is positive,’ says surfer and co-founder Allan Bennetto. ‘We get a lot of feedback from surfers, but also from parents looking out for their groms, or partners, or people going on holidays. It’s all very positive—they talk about how they know the risks, but that Dorsal provides an enhanced level of comfort in knowing what has been or is currently around.’
Following the latest shark attack on the North Coast of NSW this week, an area which Allan says garners more reports than anywhere else, I was interested to find out if Dorsal has been embraced by the somewhat anxious surf community in this region. Surely in a place so prone to shark encounters an application such as this is being widely used? The responses I received, however, while by no means extensive or conclusive, showed not only a variety of attitudes towards Dorsal, but to the threat of sharks in general.
Byron-based pro Garrett Parkes was one of several surfers interviewed who doesn’t use or see the use in such a service.
‘It’s just kind of irrelevant,’ he said. ‘No one is that paranoid they have to check an app before they surf and if you are, you’re not a thoroughbred at heart. You know the risks, you know the beaches that are prominent for attacks, simple solution: don’t surf North Wall. I haven’t surfed it in years! We have a lot of other coast to choose from.’
Ex-Surfing Life video producer and long-time resident of the Byron Bay/Ballina area, Ryan Kenny, disagrees. Among he and his friends, Dorsal is an unfortunate but nonetheless relevant part of the surfing experience.
‘It’s pretty popular in these parts,’ he said. ‘It's scary to surf around here. Especially all of us with kids.’
While Ryan clearly sees the value in the service and is thankful he’s able to make more informed choices because of it, he admits that the stats it’s providing don’t fill him with confidence. If anything, they’re having the opposite effect.
‘Everyone is kind of tripping on how many sharks are around via the app. I know I am. People are really spooked and that app highlights the numbers. I have not been surfing due to the constant fear of them to be honest. I have many friends that feel the same. One close friend that was next to Tadashi when he died relives the horror after every attack.’
On the subject of stats, Allan is quick to point out that the large number of reports coming from places like Northern NSW and Perth can partly be attributed to the money being spent on increased surveillance in the areas.
Still, a sighting is a sighting to a surfer, no matter how or why it’s reported.
Perhaps young Byron shredder Soli Bailey best describes why, at least for someone who spends as much time in the water as himself, he’d rather not use the service.
‘I think if I used it I wouldn’t surf. It would scare the shit out of me. I know a few people who do and I think it’s a great idea, but it would just get in my head too much.’
So what do you think? Is ignorance bliss when it comes to a service like Dorsal, or by not using it, are you only fooling yourself?
