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This City's High-Tech Buoys May End Shark Attacks

California is known for its sand, sun and surf — but with surf comes sharks. There have been more than 45 shark attacks off of California's coastline in the last three years. One company wants to reduce that.

California is known for its sand, sun and surf — but with surf comes sharks. There have been more than 45 shark attacks off California's coastline in the last three years, and one company is floating a plan to change that.

Newport Beach has begun a pilot program using sonar to detect sharks around Balboa Pier.

The city already has recording devices attached to buoys, but those are not in real time. The city also works with shark experts at CSU Long Beach to provide lifeguards with data on shark behavior and migratory patterns. But when Smart Marine Systems pitched its Clever Buoy to the city, the city approved the test.

"For the city, it's free," Assistant City Manager Carol Jacobs told Techwire in an interview. "This is a test project with this company. So they approached us several months ago and said, 'We'd like to put this shark detection system in the waters off of Balboa Pier. We think it's going to be an extra tool to keep the public safe.'"

The buoys use multibeam sonar transducers on the ocean floor to create a "virtual net" from which they can record swimming patterns of creatures inside.

A flyer from the company describes the system: "The system specializes in detecting large marine life using state-of-the-art sonar and identification software systems to relay critical information to authorities responsible for beach safety."

"Electronic technology in the ocean is complicated," Clever Buoy founder Craig Anderson told Techwire in an email. "Primary hardware components include multibeam sonars, storm-rated buoys, industrial CPUs, MET sensors, mobile communications, solar and battery components. Software is pattern recognition algorithm called SharkTec developed internally and fully mobile app integration."

The information is autonomously sent to a mobile application.

"My understanding is it can detect the size of a shark within 6mm," Jacobs said. "It's live-time notification; it can go to our lifeguards directly. They can tell what size it is, where it is, what kind of shark it is, and then they can make a determination of if it's time to clear the water or if it's safe. They do that mostly based on the type of shark and the size of the shark. A shark under six feet, typically its mouth isn't big enough to chomp on somebody."

The Balboa Pier system encompasses about 500 yards, but the system could be expanded as necessary. The company and city could negotiate a price based on how much more beach the system would cover.

"Following installation, the system is fully autonomous 24/7 and managed remotely from anywhere in the world," Anderson wrote.

The system works for high-intensity surf zones and can be sent out immediately, even in extreme conditions. The sonar detects all marine life, even untagged sharks, and because the technology is non-invasive, it does not catch or harm animals, according to the company's flyer.

The buoys also detect meteorological, wave and water quality data.

Kayla Nick-Kearney was a staff writer for Techwire from March 2017 through January 2019.