Sharkbite on the SL Submarine Lightwave Cable System: History, Causes,and Resolution.

In September 1985, AT&T installed the world's first deep-water, repeatered, undersea lightwave cable system, known as SL. Since that time the power conductor in the cable has been grounded to the sea along the route on four occasions. In each of these cases, sharkbite has been established as the cause. In contrast, a poll of a majority of the world's operators of submarine telephone systems revealed no known history of sharkebite on coaxial cable systems. Factors which are known to prompt sharkbite were evaluated and indications are that the attacks may occur when a shark detects, at close range, the electrical fields emanating from a suspended cable. Aquarium and at-sea experiments, however, did not conclusively verify this relationship.