The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is an apex predator and is a protected species that suffers from several
sources of anthropogenic mortality, such as shark nets. Shark nets are devices used to minimize the interaction
between beach goers and potentially dangerous sharks; however, these nets have negatively impacted local
and migratory shark populations, in addition to killing substantial quantities of other marine organisms. To
address this issue, the present study developed and examined the effects of an alternative technology (the
“Sharksafe” barrier) composed of two stimuli: (1) visual-artificial-kelp and (2) electrosensory-magnets, on
C. carcharias behavior. Generalized linear mixed effect models were used to test hypotheses pertaining to the effects
of treatment type, exposure quantity (i.e. habituation), conspecific density, andwater visibility on shark behavior.
Analyses based on forty-nine, one-hour trials illustrate that the swimpatterns of all sixty-three individual
C. carcharias was altered in the presence of the artificial kelp-the procedural control region, and the magnetic
kelp-the magnetic region of the barrier (i.e. procedural control and magnetic regions reduced entrance frequency
and increased avoidance and pass around frequency). Also, preliminary observations illustrated that the barrier
had no observable impact on Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) behavior. The C. carcharias-specific repellency
associated with the Sharksafe barrier and the ability of the barrier to withstand harsh environmental
conditionswarrant future experiments to assess its exclusion capabilities on predatory sharks and possible application
to replace shark nets.