Surfers and individuals who have survived shark attacks are urging for either governmental or corporate sponsorship to implement life-saving emergency kits on all Australian beaches.

These Community Shark Bite Kits, specifically designed to manage severe bleeding, were developed by Danny Schouten. This initiative began after his friend Kai McKenzie nearly lost his life in a shark attack while surfing in Port Macquarie in 2024.

“It was only thanks to a passerby, who happened to be walking his dog on the beach and knew trauma control, that Kai’s life was saved with the help of a dog lead,” Schouten recounted.

“This experience made me realize the necessity of having these kits readily available on every beach, so we don’t have to rely on luck in future emergencies,” he added.

Initially, ten kits were deployed in northern New South Wales last year, and now, the initiative has expanded to include 150 kits on beaches throughout New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia.

The inexpensive kits contain a tourniquet, two conforming bandages, two large dressings, an emergency thermal blanket, gloves, a whistle and step-by-step instructions on how to treat a shark bite.

Schouten said his local community, which has seen multiple shark attacks, immediately jumped behind the project but interest was now also coming from further afield.

“The wider community, the surfing community is right behind this,” he said.

“We know we’re entering the unknown.

“There’s a lot of people who will say ‘we don’t want to cull’, ‘we don’t want nets’.

“There’s no right mitigation strategy, only preparation.”

He said a tourniquet applied within seconds could be the difference between someone surviving or succumbing to a shark attack.

“We live in a community where our mums, our dads, our friends, our brothers, they surf and if it’s your friend, it’s your brother, I pray that the place that they’re surfing has one of these kits.

“Someone’s life, after being attacked by a shark, has minutes… at most before you bleed out.”

McKenzie said he was fortunate to have had someone on the beach with trauma experience on the day he was bitten – but not everyone would be so lucky.

“I was lucky to have someone with such experience to save me, but there will come a day where that won’t be the case and a Shark Bite Kit would help the chances of surviving dramatically,” he said.

Schouten is currently fundraising on GoFundMe to expand the project, with the goal to see a kit on every single beach across the country.

“Ideally, we’d have the government’s support… funding from businesses or other ventures to be able to get behind it and put one everywhere,” Schouten said.

“It’s about Australian beaches being well prepared for when these attacks happen and making our coastline a safer place for everyone.

“We’re not going to stop doing what we love, so we just have to be better prepared.”