Mandurah mum develops shark app

Mandurah mother-of-two Anna Philp has a goal of making beaches around the world safer for everyone.

She has developed an app that enables sharks to be tracked as they travel across the globe and provides up to date news and notifications on recent sightings.

Ms Philp launched Jaws Alert on May 28, just days before tragedy struck and Ben Gerring was attacked while surfing near her home in Falcon.

“My partner has spent his whole life surfing and enjoying the beach but lately he has become concerned that it is too risky to go out,” she said.

“I believe there has been an increase in attacks and sightings and it is a major problem in many other countries.

“Our beaches are beautiful and I want my children to enjoy where they live so I decided to see what I could do to help.”

Ms Philp spent a year working on her idea, researching how to develop and app and finding the right team to get it off the ground.

“I wanted something that was quick to download and easily accessible,” she said.

“The app is designed to help the community help each other.

“It can be used by anyone — fishermen, boaters, surfers and beach goers to scan the beach and report anything they see.

“We can’t rely on the technology completely but if we can help reduce the risk then we have to try.”

Ms Philp said her creation is continually evolving.

“We are adding components and improving the app all the time,” she said.

“Weather will be included and emergency numbers are also on there.

“I never thought I would become an app designer but here I am and it feels great to be doing something that might help.

“I hope in future we can enjoy the beach without feeling so anxious and help each other reduce the risk.”

Jaws Alert is free to download from Google Play and the App Store.