Shark nets and aerial searches to protect the nation’s beachgoers may become costly relics of the past if digital technology able to detect the potentially menacing creatures succeeds.

Dubbed the “Clever Buoy”, the floats use sonar devices to search for objects of greater than two metres in length approaching within about 60 metres. If confirmed as a shark, the device will send an alert via satellite to beach-based lifeguards who would then evacuate swimmers.

Shark detection device under testing.

Shark Mitigation Services (SMS), which has tested the technology at the Sydney Aquarium and at the remote Abrolhos Islands off the WA coast, hopes to release commercial versions by the middle of next year.

“It’s like face-recognition software,” said Hamish Jolly, a director of the company. “We can teach the software to look for the unique characteristics that we see in large sharks swimming.”