BOSTON — A new shark alert system would empower authorities to quickly deploy warnings through mobile phone alert messages after a shark attack.
LuLu’s Law is now in the hands of the House of Representatives after being approved by the U.S. Senate.
The bipartisan bill is named after Alabama teenager LuLu Gribbin, who was one of three people bitten by a shark in a string of attacks off the Florida Panhandle last year.
The 16-year-old lost her leg and hand.
“If there’s one shark feeding in that area, there could be others as well,” said Dr. Greg Skomal with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. “We have seen a series of bites in a very small area in a short period of time in certain parts of the eastern seaboard of the U.S.”
Skomal, who’s gearing up for another busy season on the water tagging sharks, doesn’t expect these wireless alerts will go out often in Massachusetts if the law passes.
That’s because shark bites in the state are incredibly rare.
However, the danger revealed itself twice on the Outer Cape in 2018.
61-year-old doctor William Lytton survived a Great White attack on Longnook Beach in Truro by repeatedly punching the powerful predator in August of that summer.
The following month, 26-year-old Arthur Medici was killed in a shark attack while boogie boarding off Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.
“Any tool we have that can educate the public about the presence of sharks, even if has to do with shark bites, is a good thing,” said Skomal.
The wireless warnings would be sent to cell phones, similar to an Amber Alert or a severe weather alert.
Those alerts would be received by anyone near a beach where a shark attack happens.
The law would also allow federal and local authorities to alert the public “if the conditions enhancing the possibility of a shark attack are present.”
Cape and Islands Senator Julian Cyr told Boston 25 News he supports any effort to enhance public safety awareness about sharks but points to cell phone reception issues on Outer Cape beaches.
“The practicality of this law on Outer Cape beaches is limited,” said Cape and Islands Senator Julian Cyr. “For our Atlantic facing beaches on Cape Cod, we’ve had a real challenge around cell phone access.”
The alert system would be different than the Sharktivity app, which uses sensors and GPS to track sharks.
Shark activity is expected to pick up off the coast of Massachusetts in late July.
The peak months for shark sightings in the state are August, September, and October as the apex predators work their way up the eastern seaboard.
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