Every year, beach-goers crowd the coastline by setting up camp in the sand to catch a cool ocean breeze and some rays of sunshine. However, this year there have been some unwelcome guests lurking in the waters – Great White sharks. These giant underwater predators have been seen in unusually higher numbers circling in closer to shores across the world from Australia’s Gold Coast to Cape Cod, stalking the beaches and attacking unsuspecting surfers and swimmers. These highly publicized attacks have prompted discussions of how to effectively “shark-proof” the world’s beaches. Following the fifth fatal shark attack in the past 10 months, politicians in Western Australia are considering saltwater ocean pools, akin to the famous Bondi Baths in Sydney, as a means of protecting beach-goers from sharks. State opposition leader Mark McGowan pledged that, if appointed as premier in the next state election, three ocean pools would be built: one in Albany, another at Cottesloe Beach, and a third possibly somewhere in Perth’s northern suburbs. The project would cost an estimated $5 to 10 million. “We want to provide a safe alternative to swimming in the ocean if they want it, particularly families with young children,” McGowan said to WAToday, Western Australia’s premiere news website. “These have been divers and surfers but there has also been a swimmer, we just want people to know there is a safe option.” However, as Fisheries Minister Norman Moore points out, saltwater pools do have their drawbacks and can only be a small part of the solution. “Many people that use the ocean use it for diving, for surfing, and they’re not likely to be people who can use an ocean pool,” he said to ABC News. “We’ve just got to go beyond pools to looking at solutions to this problem.”
