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Shark shield

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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dallasdiver

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2004
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Sounds like they have really improved those shark shield devices. They claim they can disrupt the shark electric field from 16ft.-26ft. not to bad. Might be handy in places that have GWS or other agressive species.



Divers embrace anti-shark device
From CNN's Phil O'Sullivan
Monday, February 21, 2005 Posted: 10:48 AM EST (1548 GMT) Monday, February 21, 2005 Posted: 10:48 AM EST (1548 GMT)



Sharks are a constant concern for divers in Australia

Australia (CNN) -- An Australian company has developed technology that intends to protect divers and surfers from being attacked by sharks while they are in the water.

Great white sharks are attracted to the warm ocean currents along Australia's southern coastline and are a constant concern for divers who work in the sea.

The coastline supports colonies of fish and seals, and divers who hunt for scallops and abalone can spend up to 10 hours a day in the water.

Increasing numbers of divers are using a protective electronic device, called Shark Shield, while they work.

When a shark comes in to attack, it automatically closes its eyes as a way of protecting them. With no sight, it detects movement with a tiny sensor in its nose, which picks up the electrical current of its prey.

The Shark Shield takes advantage of this by emitting a much stronger pulse of electricity. The battery-operated device is switched on when the diver or surfer enters the water and the electrical current is generated continuously.

The current causes intense discomfort to the shark and, as a result, they leave the area.

The inventors of the technology say it does not affect any other marine life and has no known harmful effects on the shark or the wearer.

Paul Lunn, founder of SeaChange, the company that has developed the Shark Shield, said the device worked by attacking a shark's nervous system, and it worked on sharks with the strongest of charges.

"It puts it (the shark) into a spasm, it cannot breathe, it cannot survive in this particular field. We call it hitting the wall. It comes in and hits this barrier and then it goes."

Lunn said the device puts a controlled electronic field into the water, which dissipates quickly, so there is no permanent damage to the shark.

"The wonderful thing about our technology is that when they get out of that zone, there is no long lasting damage to the shark whatsoever," he said.

The Shark Shield can repel a shark from between five and eight meters (16-26 feet), he said.

Like so much technology that eventually makes it on to the marketplace, the Shark Shield isn't exactly new.

It was first developed more than a decade ago in South Africa, but has only recently been designed to commercial standards.

It is also proving popular with surfers, but because it weighs 400g (0.9lb), it does add some weight on to the board.

The main housing unit of the Shark Shield is worn on the thigh, and the antenna is worn on the ankle.

"It's something which takes a while to be accepted, it's like any new technology, people are not too sure," surfer Wayne Sutton told CNN.

Meanwhile, the device is also being attached to fishing nets to prevent sharks stealing fishermen's catch.
 
Nice update, Dallas...

I'm gonna get a shark shield and see if it'll phase out all that gangsta' rap that everybody blasts at red lights, heh-heh.

oh, by the way...from big-D to big-D...
I'm going to call Emerald Sea Divers tonight regarding that freediving clinic at SMU.

so I'll update YOU later.
 
Yeah, I got on their mailing and email list. They are saying maybe March or June. Let me know if you want to try diving at the Terrel quarry.
 
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We'll have to go on a somewhat warm-watered day. I haven't a thing to wear....wetsuit-wise, that is. I did just get my Sporasubs last month and need to start getting used to deeperwater. When do you usually get to go?
 
I wonder if there is a manufacturers warranty on the Shark Shield. I don't see the point as you wouldn't be in much of a condition to return it if it was faulty.

It reminds me of the Shark Repellant Tablets that British pilots were given during the second world war. The war office new they didn't work, it was just to give the pilots more confidence when they were flying or engaging the enemy over water.

I bought an insect repellant, that was suposed to drive off insects, rodents and spiders by emmittinga high frequency sound. So I put it next to an ant trail expect them to go crazy but it had no effect. I tried it next to a Redback Spider in my shed. She sat next to it for two days until a Daddy Long Legs decided to have her for dinner and that stayed there for a couple of days.

Ever tried those xray glasses?
 
Poida
From all accounts the Pod is a pretty effective piece of kit.
I have read several accounts from guys that dive in sharky waters and had "encounters" in all cases the sharks did not seem to be very fond of the "massage" that the shield put out.
apparently if you exit the water with the unit powered on , you will receive a first hand demonstration of the units function, you also will not forget to switch it off again!
 
Hi Huan
I remember a documentary I saw many years ago where they were testing an electric shark repellant and yes the sharks turned away from it. Except, if the sharks were already feeding where they seemed to not be effected by the electric field.
Problem may be if people have a false sense of security and dive in amongst feeding sharks to get pictures etc.

Anyway the chances of getting attacked by a shark are probably millions to one and buying a shark shield is equivalant to buying insurance to cover yourself from being struck by lightning.
 
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The chances may be millions to one for most people but for some encountrers with sharks with attitude is a common thing (just look at the South African spearo's for example). Whilst a shark shield device may give a false sense of security to the foolish, it can only be viewed IMO as a positive thing when used along with some other strategy to try and ensure safety. I think I would buy one if I dived where sharks were common place, then again 24 years diving in the gulf without one and I'm still here :)
 
Poida said:
Hi Poida

Anyway the chances of getting attacked by a shark are probably millions to one and buying a shark shield is equivalant to buying insurance to cover yourself from being struck by lightning.
Yes for the average swimmer or person who goes down to the beach once a month during summer, perhaps the chances are in the order of millions to one.
For a spearfisherman diving sharky areas with blood and dying fish in the water , I would put the odds much, much lower.
Look at the attacks last year in OZ alone. 1 fatality in Qld , Greg Pickering got bit those are just a few that were reported by the press.
I wouldn't bet on those odds.
The guy whose report I read dives a lot in the South pacific and he specifically mentioned 2 instances where he believes that if he did not have the pod he would have got bitten or worse.
He stated that as soon as the shark came anywhere near the pod it shuddered and moved off pretty swiftly. This was while dealing with speared and bleeding fish.
The shark was in full excited mode fins held out and fast jerky movements and the pod still made it flinch, draw your own conclusions.
I don't have to worry as the chances of me getting bitten by a shark are probably millions to one going on past attacks in the N.Atlantic
You in sharky Oz waters on the other hand...... :p
 
The video footage I saw of a shark pod in action, was not a feeding situation. The shark approached the diver in a non agressive manner and would flinch as if he had been lightly struck on the nose within about 10 feet. I was clear that the shark could only be reacting to the shark pod and it was obviously unpleasant for him.

Speaking of the sound deterrent devices for mice and insects, I have a hunting lease with a travel trailer in the woods and each time I would go I would have to deal with a mouse infestion problem. It looked as if hundreds of mice had been living and crapping in the trailer and I would have to clean the trailer for a few hours each time I visited it. Also mice would run across your body while you were trying to sleep and make noise all night long. A friend recommend the sound deterrent device to me and so I tried it. It made a slight clicking sound that was audible within about 10 feet to the human ear. On the next visit to the trailer I was amazed, the trailer was completely clean and I didn't see a single mouse that evening or the next three trips. About nine months later they began to appear in small numbers and one eventually built a nest within three feet of the device! I'm not sure if the device just wore out by running 24/7 or if the frequency pitch changed to where it didn't bother them anymore.
 
Hi dallasdiver
Yeah they get used to the sound and it doesn't bother them anymore. With some devices they have a button on the back that you can alter the pitch so they will not get used to one sound. They are probably in your trailer having a disco.
 
About shark statistics, i`m with Huan about this one, The evidence strongly points toward the fact that you have way more risk to be hitten by a ligthning than to be bitten by a shark but .... I had never seen no sharks falling from sky anyway ...

The statistics are not reflecting the real risk for a spearo diving in bluewater with chumm and diyng fish around, so it it wise to use one as we use a safety belt ...
 
As has been pointed out, that "millions to one" figure comes from the population as a whole. If you play golf in Florida or along the Gulf Coast, your chances of getting nailed through the club are quite good. However, here in California, where lightning is a very rare occurance, for a diver who goes out to the Channel Islands where sea lions and elephant seals haul out to calve, your chances of getting shark bit are actually better than getting hit by lightning! Given that, I do have one acquaintance who owns a Shark Shield. He's never seen a shark while wearing it (see how well it works?) but has taken the "hot" end between the legs when getting in and out of the boat. Stimulatin'? Hoo-boy!
 
hahaha, reminds me of the only time I wore a shark shield.

Shot a coral trout and had to swim backwards to the boat because a reef shark was getting too curious. I figured the shield wasn't on until I straddled the gunwale of the aluminium boat. *Zap* and I knew it was on. My poor boys took ages to recover, I was walking funny for a while.

Same trip the owner of the shark shield had to pulled out of the water by another boat crew because a pack of reefies and whalers were bumping him. He had shot a big fish (slimy cod?) and it had buried itself in a cave. Blood pouring everywhere. The shield was on, as the people who pulled him out of the water found out, but it seemed to be doing little to stop him being bumped by the sharks. He's a very exprienced diver, but he was squealing like a little piglet... rofl

Shark shield got packed away for the rest of the trip.

It seems to work on curious sharks, but in a feeding frenzy, or in a determined attack which starts from some distance away, I cant see it doing much good.

One interesting experiment would be to use a fake seal, like the one used to get the pics of the GW in South Africa breaching. Attach the shield and see if it stops the GW from smashing the seal.
 
Some divers in South Africa recon that the pod attracts the shark to your general visinity
but it does keep them away from you. These guys say that they have never seen so many sharks since wearing the pod. So the moral of the story is, don't dive with a buddy with a pod if you are not wearing one too.

About the zapping, this also happens when you stick both legs out the water when you make your dive, outch!!
 
Here's a copy of an email I received from the Sharkshield people a few weeks ago I think you may find interesting. Many of us use it and it is far from a gimmick, it's the only repellant that works! Having been around plenty of sharks I can attest to its effectiveness too, specifically on bulls, hammerheads,makos, and sand bar's I've used it against.

-----Original Message-----
From: Helena Wescombe Down [mailto:helena@sharkshield.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 07, 2005 5:25 PM
To: Dana Gonzalez;Mark Laboccetta; Clayton Gush; Bruce Bearfeld
Subject: FW: You saved my life, no joke

Please find below an excellent testimonial, which I thought you may find
interesting. When we receive emails such as these, it brings home to us
just how much of a difference this technology can make to people.

Best regards

Helena Wescombe-Down
General Manager
SeaChange Technology Pty Ltd
344A Findon Road
Kidman Park South Australia 5025

Telephone: +61 (0)8 8355 4700
Facsimile: +61 (0)8 8355 4800
Mobile: +61 (0)414 548 911

Website: www.sharkshield.com <http://www.sharkshield.com>


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Klugface [mailto:klugface6@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 7 August 2005 4:32 PM
To: info@sharkshield.com
Subject: You saved my life, no joke


My name is Jon Schwartz. I was out in Honokohau Harbor in Kona kayak fishing
with my wife today. While tying on a bait, I heard splash , and we paddled
toward it. Then a 12 foot tiger shark came up to check us out, it took a
look at us and then started steaming for us. I just got it the other day and
so I didn't think the charge would last the whole time we were out, so I had
it at the ready, not expecting it would come to this. I had the antennae
loosley coiled up in the back, and as it came at us I plopped the antennae
in the water, and reached for the switch. My wife and I were hoping to God
it would worked, we didn't know if it would, how would we know, I just read
the manula two nights before in the hotel room. Well I turned it on, and
thank God, it acted as if I annoyed it terribly, and turned tail with a
splash and ran off. I really actually owe my life to this thing; moreover it
saved the life of my kid's mom. This may sound like too perfect to be true
but it's true, I only wish I had it on video. My cell is 760-XXX-XXXX, and I
will contact you soon. I got it from Rosalind in San Diego and it's the best
600 I ever spent!
Jon Schwartz
 
do you think the `one`s good two`s better`logic apply to the Sh sh ? I mean if you wear two will improve the kick`in certain situations or the power isn`t linearily additive ????
 
seaman said:
do you think the `one`s good two`s better`logic apply to the Sh sh ? I mean if you wear two will improve the kick`in certain situations or the power isn`t linearily additive ????

Man now you must be really paranoid of sharks :D Actually, I am not sure, I'd have to ask the people at Shark shield but it would make sense that the current field would be twice as strong, the effective range is about a 15ft radius with the Freedom 4 which is the spearfisherman's most pupular unit.

They have one called the Mariner, which is what the guy who was on his kayak must have had, that has a bigger electrode that hangs off the boat with about a 30ft range, but I've never used it.

The problem with wearing two I think is that it would be too cumbersome to swim with having one strapped to each leg.

Later, Mark
 
i know, :) just curious, i would like to have one but for that price i could get a Wong's Northeaster, and for a few more bucks a Magnum Hybrid!! thanks anyway
 
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