AN alarm using lights and sirens that alerts swimmers to the presence of tagged sharks has been rejected by the WA Fisheries Department, which says the concept is “not practical or feasible”.

A year after being ordered to investigate the technology by Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly in the wake of a fatal attack on surfer Laeticia Brouwer in Esperance, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development yesterday confirmed the shark siren idea had been tested but was a no-go.

“Following assessments of a number of options it was determined that retrofitting the receivers was not practical or feasible, both from a technical design and operational effectiveness viewpoint,” a spokesman said.

Currently when a tagged shark is detected by one of the State’s network of 27 satellite-linked acoustic receivers, an alert is posted on Surf Life Saving WA’s Twitter feed and on the Sharksmart website, while surf lifesavers are notified and can close the beach.

But locals in Esperance called on the McGowan Government to investigate whether the acoustic receivers, or the buoys they are tethered to, could be fitted with lights and sirens to send an immediate warning to surfers and swimmers if a tagged shark was in the area.

Esperance Ocean Safety and Support Group leader Mitch Capelli argued surfers and swimmers couldn’t check a website while they were in the water, but a light and siren was an instant warning.

Fisheries Minister Dave Kelly instructed his department to investigate the concept, saying that if it was found to be successful, feasible and affordable, the measures could be rolled out at other receivers dotted along the WA coastline.

But yesterday the department said the concept had been deemed not technically possible — despite a similar technology being trialled successfully in a joint project between Curtin University researchers and the Mullaloo Surf Life Saving Club.

In a three-year program at Mullaloo, acoustic receivers attached to buoys in the water and fitted with an antenna triggered a siren on the beach when a tagged shark swam by.

Despite its success, it ended because of a lack of funding.