Sharks have existed for upwards of420 million twelvemonth , but today more than a quarter of all known shark species face possible extinction . One of the biggest threats to their beingness is bycatch , which happens when sportfishing vessel haul in marine life other than what they ’re point . scientist are looking into fashion to better preclude this , and the most late research into shark bycatch simplification focuses on their predisposition to electromagnetic fields .
Lab and field experiments have demonstrate that magnets and electropositive metal can be used to revolt sharks . By introducing these material to fishing maulers , sharks can be proceed at a safe aloofness without discourage the Pisces the Fishes specie that are meant to be caught .
For some shark species , this engineering science significantly cut back the rate of bycatch . sand bar shark realise a by-catch decrease of more than two - third , and spiny dogfish submit longer when approaching the decoy . But for the blue shark species , this seemed to have the opposite essence . The magnet and electropositive metallic element sometimes increased the figure of blue shark caught , leading some fishers to doubt the efficaciousness of the specialized fishing lure , which they dub “ mako shark magnets . ”
This is just one of several potential take that want to be tackled before the technology is quick for commercial-grade fishing sauceboat . There ’s also the fiscal and logistical hurdle to consider ; uncommon earth metallic element are expensive , and they put down rapidly in seawater . Even when devices do inexpensively and effectively cut by-catch , they have still been known to facefierce oppositionfrom fisherman . Still , the new inquiry is a step in the right direction , and could potentially top to more solutions that tap the unique biota of shark for their own welfare .
[ h / t : Gizmodo ]
