grand prize in the International Smart Gear Competition for a fishing gear innovation that could save thousands of sharks a year from dying accidentally as by-catch on longlines.

Each year, thousands of sharks die when they are caught on hooks set by commercial longline fisheries that are targeting tuna and swordfish. The Smart Gear Competition was created by the WWF and partners to produce ideas that could reduce fisheries by-catch. Herrmann’s idea, which is based on a shark's ability to detect magnetic fields, is to place strong magnets just above baited hooks on a longline to repel certain shark species.

Sharks are not the only species caught as by-catch. Millions of fish, marine animals and birds are also killed each year as unwanted by-catch. Two other inventions to help by-catch victims were awarded $5,000 runners-up prizes: a floating scarecrow device to scare away seabirds, and a flexible grid for trawl nets to allow larger fish that are not targeted catch to swim out safely.

This year the competition had 83 entries from 26 countries.