"This report has taken me to the United States of America to meet a man whose invention could save the lives of thousands of sharks. His device helps to prevent sharks from being accidentally caught on fishing lines."

"Unfortunately large numbers of sharks die every year after getting caught and injured on the hooks of long fishing lines laid by commercial fisheries, which are intending to catch large fish such as tuna and swordfish."

"Some populations of shark have been reduced by 90 % because of being accidentally caught in fishing equipment, pushing some species to near extinction."

"Michael Herrmann was the winner of a WWF competition to find new ways of preventing animals like sharks, turtles and dolphins from dying unnecessarily in fishing gear – a problem which scientists call "by-catch"."

"WWF's Smart Gear competition is an opportunity to find, reward and promote wildlife-friendly fishing practices, which are often inexpensive, simple ideas that can be easily implemented."

"Mr Herrmann's idea uses a shark's ability to detect magnetic fields as a way to protect them from accidentally being caught on fishing lines. He found that placing strong magnets just above the baited hooks on long-line fishing nets seemed to repel certain shark species away from the lines."

"Mr Herrmann was given prize money equivalent to about £13,000 to further develop and test his idea. Two other people also received prizes – one for an idea that uses a flying scarecrow to stop sea birds from getting caught on fishing hooks and another for a more flexible type of fishing net that would allow certain fish species to escape."

"There are over 350 different types of shark, some which are as small as your hand and some which are as big as a bus! Finding ways of preventing sharks from being caught in fishing gear is really important if all these different shark species are to survive."