What do sharks and police officers have in common? Their locations are of high interest, whether you’re driving down the road or surfing the waves (respectively).
Anyone who has used the community based traffic and navigation app Waze will be able to understand exactly how shark-tracking app Dorsal works.
Dorsal will allow any and all individuals to report shark sightings. Beachgoers, surfers and everyone else will be able to instantly post the location of any shark that has been seen, as well as post photos and videos. While the app was created through startup company Fruitful Tech, the idea came from from co-founder Allan Bennetto after dealing with shark incidents while surfing in Australia.
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A report from National Geographic earlier this year revealed that there had been a new record of shark attacks in 2015 with 98 incidents, which included six human fatalities. That is 26 more than in 2014 and more the 40 than a decade ago. With these numbers constantly rising, it was obvious that something like Dorsal would be helpful.
In addition to Dorsal, there are two more apps available to help maintain the main website dorsalwatch.com, Dorsal CMS and Dorsal GPS. Dorsal Moderator CMS is for those who work with authorities so help verify and validate the reports that are shared. This will help keep the app reliable and will prevent people from making fake reports.
Dorsal GPS is specialized for helicopter pilots and spotters so they can pinpoint a shark’s locations with GPS coordinates. They can then add details about the sighting later on after they land.
The main app had been released in Australia last year with a response of 30,000 app downloads and over 200,000 daily website/report visitors. It has been available in the U.S. since June 8th, but the upcoming annual premier of Shark Week will get people in the mindset of sharks and the dangers they bring.