Bimini, Bahamas ? Eric Stroud, a research chemist who heads the Oak Ridge, N.J.-based company Shark Defense, has tested a chemical substance he believes will drive sharks away from dangerous fishing lines and, perhaps, also protect people. Working with University of Miami researcher Samuel Gruber, who directs the Bimini Biological Field Station, a shark-research facility, Stroud has determined that a synthetic liquid replicating the scent of rotting sharks prompts them to flee when it is released into the water.

In the spring of 2003, Stroud came to Bimini, Bahamas, to test his formula – a combination of a dozen compounds known as A2 – on the shark species that thrive in the area, including blacknose, bull, Caribbean reef, lemon, nurse and tiger sharks.

Stroud hopes to launch his first commercial product early next year, in the form of a time-released device fishermen can attach to their longlines so sharks do not become tangled in them.

Stroud has successfully tested the substance on tuna in Panama to make sure they will approach fishing lines despite the repellent, because fishermen will not use it if it scares off commercially targeted species.