A study suggests that wrapping a surfboard in very bright lights — like aquatic Christmas trees — could make the surfer less interesting to great white sharks.

Covering your surfboard in bright lights sounds like an open invitation to great white sharks, but research released Tuesday by Australian scientists found it might actually stave off attacks.

Seal-shaped boards decked with bright horizontal lights were less likely to be attacked by great white sharks, researchers found.

Australian researchers looking for ways to stop shark attacks have found bright lights could be the answer. The team dragged boards shaped as seals, fitted with LED lights, behind a boat off the coast of South Africa.

Ryan and her fellow researchers showed that seal-shaped boards decked with bright horizontal lights were less likely to be attacked by great white sharks.

Biologist Laura Ryan said the predator often attacked its prey from underneath, occasionally mistaking a surfer's silhouette for a seal.

New research has found that using lights on the bottom side of a surfboard or kayak could put great white sharks off

They are responsible for the majority of all shark attacks, and researchers were hoping to figure out why, and use it against them. The results of that study were published in the journal Current Biology.

Reports of shark attacks on surfers appear in the media quite regularly. Researchers have decided to tackle the issue. Scientists from Macquarie University in New South Wales have developed a simple but effective way to deter predators.

New LED camouflage can deter shark attacks, scientists say - Sharks less likely to interact as LED lights get brighter