(WHDH) — A nonprofit group on Cape Cod is looking at ways to keep swimmers, surfers, and boaters safe this summer.
Jim Papadonis — a Cape Cod Ocean Community Incorporated board member — believes one company is making waves when it comes to shark safety.
“The ocean guardian product, for me personally, is the best, and that’s best evidenced by the fact that I’m still here,” he said.
Ocean Guardian is an Australian company that is being considered for a pilot program on the Cape.
“I know a lot of surfers and a lot of beach-goers and people who recreate, and want to recreate in the water, and many have changed their behaviors,” said Papadonis.
The company makes several devices that can be worn individually or used on watercraft. They use powerful electronic signals to deter sharks, sending them swimming in the other direction.
“It emits an electric field, it doesn’t harm the great whites or other marine animals,” Papadonis explained.
The Cape group says it started exploring the use of this kind of technology back in 2018 following the death of Arthur Medici.
Shark concerns have caused the number of surfers visiting the area to drop in recent years.
The group says it wants people visiting the cape to feel at ease while co-existing with the community of sharks that swim through.
“What we want to do is continue to make those waters — if it’s one person safe or day by day, that’s what our mission is,” said Papadonis.
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