ShoreSense
An AI ocean hazard companion that combines verified shark sightings, lifeguard reports, weather, tide, and rip-current data into a single beach-safety score for the spot you're about to enter the water.
Surfers, boogie boarders, open-water swimmers, and beachgoers planning water activities
- Live hazard map showing nearby verified shark sightings, lifeguard warnings, and rip-current alerts within a chosen radius
- Beach safety score (0-100) that adjusts for time of day, water temperature, baitfish presence, and recent sightings
- Push notification when a verified shark sighting is reported within 5 miles of any beach you've saved
- Crowdsourced 'I just saw X' sighting reports with photo verification and species ID from a computer-vision model
The viral great white leaping near a boogie boarder, combined with recovering shark populations on both US coasts, has made ocean-hazard awareness top-of-mind for the 100M+ Americans who hit the beach each year.
Existing shark apps (Sharktivity by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, OCEARCH tracker) and condition aggregators (Beach Buddy, Beach Report) show real user pull, but SharkWatch's pre-launch waitlist + $19 founding member push confirms paying demand is currently unproven at scale.Sharktivity White Shark Tracking App — AWSC ↗SharkWatch — shark bite & sighting alerts for your beach ↗
Market is crowded with point solutions: SharkWatch (bites+sightings alerts), Sharktivity (sightings only), Beach Buddy (conditions only), Beach Report (NOAA conditions). No one yet fuses all into a single composite score for the spot — but the gap is narrow and a funded entrant (SharkWatch) is already shipping this summer.Shark Spotting Apps Compared: OCEARCH vs Dorsal vs Sharktivity ↗
SharkWatch proves a $19 lifetime / $9.99/yr model works at the niche level; surfers already pay for Surfline (~$10/mo) and premium surf/tide apps, so willingness to pay is validated, but top-of-funnel conversion is unproven.SharkWatch — shark bite & sighting alerts for your beach ↗Beach Conditions, Weather & Surf Reports | 500+ Beaches ↗
Shark populations are recovering on both US coasts, climate change is intensifying rip currents and coastal weather, and Lulu's Law (signed Jun 26 2026) makes hazard awareness a sustained regulatory tailwind — though a federal alert system could partially commoditize the alerting layer.Phippsburg beaches reopen after possible shark sighting ↗Rip Currents and Beach Hazards - National Weather Service ↗
All required data feeds are public/free: NOAA NWS beach forecasts (rip current), NDBC buoys, NOAA CO-OPS tides, NOAA weather, plus public APIs from Sharktivity/OCEARCH — composite-scoring ML layer is straightforward to build.Rip Currents and Beach Safety - NOAA ↗OCEARCH Shark Tracker ↗