Effectiveness of novel fabrics to resist punctures and lacerations from white shark (Carcharodon carcharias): implications to reduce injuries from shark bites

Increases in the number of shark bites, along with increased media attention on shark-human interactions has led to growing interest in preventing injuries from shark bites through the use of personal mitigation measures. The leading cause of fatality from shark bite victims is blood loss; thus reducing haemorrhaging may provide additional time for a shark bite victim to be attended to by emergency services. Despite previous shark-proof suits being bulky and cumbersome, new technological advances in fabric has allowed the development of lightweight alternatives that can be incorporated onto traditional wetsuits. The ability for these fabrics to withstand shark bites has not been scientifically tested.In this report, we compared two types of recently developed protective fabrics that incorporated ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre onto neoprene (SharkStop and ActionTX) and compared them to standard neoprene alternatives. We tested nine different fabric variants using three different tests, laboratory-based puncture and laceration tests, along with field-based trials involving white sharks Carcharodon carcharias. Field-based trials consisted of measuring C. carcharias bite force and quantifying damages to the new fabrics following a bite from 3–4 m total length C. carcharias. We found that SharkStop and ActionTX fabric variants were more resistant to puncture, laceration, and bites from C. carcharias. 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 for both types of test, i.e. laboratory and field tests. Our results showed that UHMWPE fibre increased the resistance of neoprene to shark bites. Although the use of UHMWPE fibre (e.g. SharkStop and ActionTX) may therefore reduce blood loss resulting from a shark bite, research is needed to assess if the reduction in damages to the fabrics extends to human tissues and decreases injuries.Date coverage: 2018 - 2019Location: Neptune Islands Group Marine Park, South Australia, Australia

鲨鱼攻击事件数量的上升，以及媒体对鲨鱼与人类互动的关注度增加，促使人们对通过个人缓解措施预防鲨鱼咬伤的伤害产生了日益浓厚的兴趣。鲨鱼咬伤受害者死亡的主要原因是大出血；因此，减少出血可能为鲨鱼咬伤受害者获得紧急医疗服务提供额外的时间。尽管之前的防鲨服笨重且不便，但面料技术的最新进展已允许开发出轻便的替代品，这些替代品可以与传统的潜水服结合使用。这些面料经受鲨鱼咬伤的能力尚未经过科学测试。在本报告中，我们比较了两种最近开发的防护面料，它们将超高分子量聚乙烯（UHMWPE）纤维集成到氯丁橡胶（SharkStop和ActionTX）中，并将其与标准氯丁橡胶替代品进行了比较。我们使用了九种不同的面料变体，通过三种不同的测试进行了测试，包括基于实验室的穿刺和撕裂测试，以及基于现场的试验，涉及白鲨（Carcharodon carcharias）。现场试验包括测量C. carcharias的咬合力，并量化了3-4米总长C. carcharias咬伤后新面料所受的损害。我们发现，SharkStop和ActionTX面料变体对穿刺、撕裂和C. carcharias的咬伤具有更高的抵抗力。与对照面料相比（基于实验室的测试），穿透新面料所需的力更大，且对新面料造成的切口较小、较浅，这两种测试类型（即实验室和现场测试）中，标准氯丁橡胶的切口均如此。我们的结果表明，UHMWPE纤维提高了氯丁橡胶对鲨鱼咬伤的抵抗力。虽然因此使用UHMWPE纤维（例如SharkStop和ActionTX）可能因此减少鲨鱼咬伤造成的出血，但仍需研究以评估面料损害的减少是否延伸至人体组织并降低伤害。数据覆盖范围：2018-2019年；地点：澳大利亚南澳大利亚的涅普顿群岛海洋公园。