Posted on 04/04/2002 5:56:03 PM PST by Icthus
Strap-on shark-repelling device launched for swimmers and surfers
An Australian company is launching an electronic device that swimmers can wear to repel sharks.
Manufacturer SeaChange say the Shark Shield has worked in all its tests, including those on a human.
The paperback book-sized device straps on to the thigh. It trails an antenna that emits shark-repelling signals.
It repels sharks when they get to within five metres of the swimmer.
Ian Gordon, a marine biologist and documentary maker who's been testing the device, told the Sydney Morning Herald: "All life forms give off an electric current - what we'd call an aura - and the Shark Shield's aura irritates sharks. I'd be in the water and when the sharks came in to attack they'd hit the electrical current and turn away."
Rod Hartley, chairman of SeaChange, described earlier, non-human, tests on the A$700 (£260) device.
He said: "Sharks are often near seal colonies, so we'd go to a seal colony and get a huge bloody piece of meat like a horse's leg, strap it to a surfboard, then pour blood in the water and watch what happened."
He added: "Five thousand times we tried this, and 5,000 times the sharks pulled away."
The potential market is enormous, Mr Hartley adds. He said: "There are 16 million divers in the world, and 18 million surfers. They can be incorporated into lifejackets for shipping crews and passengers." Advance orders have been outstripping production at the Adelaide factory.
The device also repels string rays, but not dolphins, whales or fish, Mr Hartley said.
Story filed: 07:52 Thursday 28th March 2002
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