A federal law inspired by the near-fatal shark attack of a 15-year-old Alabama girl will allow for emergency mobile alerts to warn beachgoers of shark activity. President Donald Trump signed "Lulu's Law" last week, requiring the Federal Communications Commission to enable emergency messages for shark attacks.

Lulu Gribbin was on a trip to the Florida Panhandle in June 2024 when she was bitten by a shark while diving for sand dollars. She lost her left hand and part of her right leg. Gribbin recounted that 90 minutes earlier, another woman had been bitten by a shark approximately 3 miles down the same beach. She stated that knowledge of the prior attack would have prevented her from entering the water.

The legislation classifies a shark attack as an event eligible for emergency alerts, functioning similarly to Amber Alerts. The implementation of these warnings will be up to individual states. Gribbin's home state of Alabama had already approved a similar warning system the previous year.

"It’s really just common-sense legislation," Gribbin said. "It says that whenever there has been a shark attack in a certain area where you are near, it will send an alert to your phone, exactly like how an Amber Alert system works when a child is abducted."

Gribbin, who has since advocated for the law, expressed hope that the alert system will help prevent future attacks and save lives.

Shark Attack Statistics and Causes

Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's shark research program, noted that while sharks are common in U.S. waters, shark bites are rare, with approximately 60 to 80 unprovoked bites occurring worldwide each year. Multiple bites in close proximity are even rarer, according to the International Shark Attack File database.

Naylor suggested that environmental factors, such as sharks following schools of bait fish closer to shore or murky water conditions, can increase the likelihood of a shark mistaking a person for prey. He also mentioned that bull sharks are frequently found offshore in the region where Gribbin was attacked, and great white sharks have been sighted more often in cooler waters off New England and Atlantic Canada.

Despite sightings that may cause concern, Naylor emphasized the rarity of shark attacks, stating that sharks generally avoid people.

Gribbin's Recovery and Advocacy

Following her attack, Gribbin underwent amputations of part of her right leg and her left hand. She described her initial struggle with the drastic changes to her life and her subsequent decision to focus on positivity and perseverance.

Gribbin was fitted with prosthetic limbs, regained mobility, returned to sports, and obtained her driver's license. She has also returned to the water and taken up surfing, an experience that led to her meeting professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, who also survived a shark attack.

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, who sponsored the legislation, credited Gribbin's "courage, perseverance, and advocacy" for the law's passage. Britt stated that Gribbin's strength has the potential to change lives and serve as an inspiration.

Another individual who experienced a shark attack, Braxton Rocha, also supported the idea of an alert system, believing it would be valuable information for beachgoers, especially tourists. Rocha was bitten by a tiger shark while spearfishing off the Big Island of Hawaii in 2015, an incident that required extensive medical treatment but did not diminish his affinity for the ocean and sharks.