Stripes are the key to foiling shark attacks

Stripes are the key to foiling shark attacks

There is justifiable concern over the possibility of an accidental yet severe shark attack off our shores. Something needs to be done before Cape Cod is known not for the sand of our beaches but the blood in its waters.

Is there nothing we can do besides killing the seals and/ or sharks? The answer is yes! The poisonous sea snake and lionfish have dark and light patterns on their scales. Sharks instinctively know black and white means do-not-bite. Our friends Down Under figured this out a few years ago; as of this writing, no one in Australia that has worn a striped wetsuit or has a striped-bottomed surfboard has been attacked. Sharks see in black and white, so the colors could be any dark/light combination.

There needs to be an ordinance passed that all surfboards, kayaks, paddleboards and other small seagoing craft have a striped bottom. Even if the shark is not repelled the black-andwhite pattern will break up the surfboard’s silhouette so it no longer resembles a large seal.

Wetsuit manufacturers need to be contacted to produce striped wetsuits, then ban the sale of solid-colored wetsuits on Cape Cod. Prevention is the key. Let us act before there is a tragedy.

Joseph Yukna

Mashpee
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Ordinance? Ban? Facepalm!