A new material that can be incorporated into the wetsuits of surfers and divers may help prevent catastrophic blood loss after a shark bite incident.
Flinders University marine researchers conducted initial testing of two types of protective fabrics that incorporate ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibres (UHMWPE) into standard neoprene material. The material was then subjected to the bite of a great white shark, which is responsible for the most human deaths each year. The tests included 10 variants of two different fabrics using two laboratory tests, puncture and laceration tests.
The results of this study, led by Professor Charlie Huveneers of the Southern Shark Ecology Group, was published in the latest issue of PLOS ONE.
“The aim of this study was to assess the ability of new fabrics incorporated into neoprene to reduce injuries from White Shark bites,” Huveneers said. “Our results showed that both fabrics tested may provide some protection against shark bite and could be used as part of a shark bite mitigation strategy.”
White shark bite force was also measured at the Neptune Islands Group Marine Park using load sensors placed between steel plates surrounded by foam.
“More force was required to puncture the new fabrics compared to control fabrics (laboratory-based tests), and cuts made to the new fabrics were smaller and shallower than those on standard neoprene from both types of test, i.e. laboratory and field tests,” Huveneers said.