Shark Deterrents - Tested

Lets get two things straight from the outset, apart from the fact that I did not do the testing.

Firstly, that I grew up in the era of JAWS the movie being shown on television at any and all public holidays. You know the drill, Christmas was Star Wars and JAWS for sure.  That means I used to be as frightened of sharks jumping out of my closet, as when I was in a swimming pool, let alone in the sea. I grew up by the sea and used to swim in it every day. I used to face that fear as a kid every day and once you have seen that film, you can't un-see it. To sum up, my fear of sharks is way up there and so the idea of a shark deterrent is always going to pique my interest.

Secondly, that I live in a part of the world where (not wanting to tempt fate) there has not been a recorded shark attack to date. I am a surfer, so I spend a lot of time in the sea and have seen many big fish, fast fish, logs that looking like big fish. I am sure I have been bumped, I have had my leash pulled, but by what I have no idea. The fact that I am still here and whole means it might just have been a inquisitive jellyfish. I have very little chance of having a meaningful and negative contact with a shark while surfing my home break.

Now that you have some background, I would like also to point out that I am pro shark repellent. The idea that a simple piece of clothing or jewellery being the solution to a growing problem is a very attractive one. It would mean fewer human fatalities in the water, and less hatred to sharks. There are places in the world that have a growing number of shark incidents every year such as the Reunion Island and Australia, particularly in 2016.

The reasons for the escalating number of attacks are unknown. Speculation seems to be that we might have over-fished a certain type of fish in the ocean food chain and there is not enough natural pray for the sharks. Another idea seems to be with the growing number of 'cage diving tourists' (humans that pay to be dangled in front of sharks in a cage) that the sharks are simply relating humans to food. There is another thought that as a certain species of shark had been put on the endangered list and could not be fished, so it has had a chance to breed out of control and out of available food sources.

It is a massive subject with a lot of swirling issues, and people wanting to get in on the argument for their own reasons and push their own agendas.

What I would like to talk about is a solution to the problem. What about these shark deterrents that are out there? Do they work? Are they feasible? Do they harm the shark? I guess we are not going to find out the answer to the last question unless someone you know speaks shark.

The thing with a shark repellent is that it just needs to do one thing. It needs to work. It does not need to match your wetsuit or have a built in Twitter app, but it does need to repel sharks. Or you are dead. Or minus a limb or kidney.

Have a look at this.

Sharkbanz are the world first shark deterrent band, and they under 100 bucks. That's right, safety from sharks for under a ton (100 bucks). Could this be the answer to one the biggest issues in some parts of the world? Would I, and many others that are in no danger of attacked by sharks, be psychologically soothed that the aqua boogeyman (JAWS) from our childhood would be banished forever. Surfers around the world rejoice, here it is.

Well, apparently not.This is the testing that was done in the shark infested waters of the coast of Western Australia.

Okay, now that is not cool. Perhaps this type of deterrent is the way forward, maybe with greater development and obviously an awful lot more testing, we can be sure that a small device will allow us to exist peacefully with the ocean's most veracious predator. It is definitely a better idea than killing a load of sharks that's for certain, but as I have stated, the one thing it has to do is work. There is no good having a money back guarantee on this if you get my drift.

Maybe, just maybe, we are looking at this wrong, maybe there is a place for this. Maybe, we need to think more about the psychological benefits to this. How much of why people don't go in the water is because they are scared of the idea of sharks and big fish. Just like me, growing up in the JAWS era or just have an overactive imagination. Would it help to have shark repellent on your wrist that didn't work except in your mind? Feeling so confident that, even if you did see something big with fins speeding your way in the water you'd think it was just after a fish that was near you. I guess you would not know the truth of it until it was too late anyway.

While I remain pro deterrent as way of solving this problem, I maybe think that I would never put myself in front of a shark to begin with, cage or no cage. Why do it? Its like covering yourself in honey and walking into the forest to find a bear to hug then wondering why only your spinal cord remains.

Bottom line. Deterrents THAT WORK are the way forward. Stop cage diving for tourists. Don't overfish the sea of the sharks' food. Don't kill sharks. Most important of all, if you do buy a shark deterrent, make sure you get a mate to test it first.