Federal law creates shark-attack alert system after Alabama teen's advocacy

President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that directs the Federal Communications Commission to allow emergency alerts for shark attacks, a measure promoted by 15-year-old survivor Lulu Gribbin. The legislation, known as “Lulu’s Law,” classifies a shark bite as an event eligible for an emergency alert, similar to an Amber Alert, and leaves implementation to individual states. Alabama approved a pilot warning system last year, and other states are expected to follow.

Gribbin survived a June 7, 2024 attack off the Florida Panhandle that left her without a left hand and part of her right leg. She said she would not have entered the water had she known another shark bite had occurred nearby earlier that day. Since her recovery, she has advocated for the alert system, stating, > “It’s really just common-sense legislation. 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.”

U.S. Senator Katie Britt, who sponsored the bill, praised Gribbin’s “courage, perseverance, and advocacy to protect future beachgoers.”

Shark bites in U.S. waters remain rare, with 60-80 unprovoked incidents worldwide each year, according to Gavin Naylor of the Florida Museum of Natural History. He noted that multiple bites in close proximity are unusual and often linked to environmental factors such as schools of bait fish or murky water.

Other shark-bite survivors, including Braxton Rocha, who was attacked by a tiger shark in Hawaii in 2015, expressed support for the alert system, saying timely information could help tourists and beachgoers make safer decisions.