A program that helps protect swimmers by monitoring shark activity along the Southern California coastline is in danger of losing funding, which could result in an uptick in attacks this summer.
The Shark Lab, a biology unit of California State University, Long Beach, developed a high-tech shark beach-safety program in 2018 that allows researchers to track sharks and other marine life in real time using a system of receivers, buoys, and underwater monitors. When shark activity is detected along beaches, lifeguards receive instant notifications to clear swimmers from the water.
However, due to cuts in state funding, the program may run out of money just in time for the summer beach season. The lab is hoping to raise $7 million from private and nonprofit donors to keep the programs going, but for now it's enough to cause concern.
"It's getting pretty serious," Shark Lab director Chris Lowe told Los Angeles' KABC 7 News. "We have enough money to carry us through June but after that, if we don't get more funding, we're going to have to pull out all of the equipment out of the water. We won't be able to monitor sharks along California anymore."
"Everything that we learned from our science gets out to the public, and this is unique," Lowe continued. "It's considered one of the best shark mitigation programs in the world."
Last summer, Shark Lab published findings of a study that used drones to learn the habits of juvenile white sharks along the Southern California coastline. And although no shark attacks were reported during the two year study period at any of the 26 beaches surveyed, the team were surprised to see learn sharks swim much closer to swimmers than previously believed.
Of course, it's always important to note that shark attacks are rare. That said, considering there was a spike in worldwide shark attack fatalities in 2023, the timing seems particularly questionable to defund a program that could potentially save lives.
"While we can't say that if we stop monitoring shark bites will go up off California, we do know it will be difficult for lifeguards and the public to understand changing shark movement and behavior patterns," Lowe explained to Newsweek. "Think of shark monitoring like weather forecasting. We can't change the weather, but if we know what is coming our way, we can plan in ways to keep people and sharks safer."
