Despite what movies such as Jaws or Discovery Channel’s Shark Week might suggest, shark attacks are actually not all that common. However, about 100 people are attacked by sharks each year and this isn’t all that comforting to surfers and divers.
Researchers have suggested that black wetsuits could make wearers look like seals, which just happen to be a shark’s favorite snack. Australian based Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) has developed a line of wetsuits that are designed to look a little less appetizing to sharks. These feature a disruptive pattern that sharks may have trouble seeing, or even make them think otherwise about taking a bite.
While sharks can reportedly detect small amounts of blood in the water from miles away and can detect electric currents in the water for the kill – or rather bite – the shark depends on vision. This is where the SAMS suit comes in as it could provide enough to confuse the shark, and give the wearer time not to be the catch of the day. Video after the jump