![]() ![]() “The safest place to be is where there’s a lot of eyes watching,” says Bucher and jokes, “The surf lifesaving people love to cite that their record of preventing shark attacks!” You are very unlikely to succumb to a fatal shark attack when swimming between the flags. So it’s probably not the thing that would attract them from a great distance.”īucher says these vibrations are such strong indicators that he’s heard of places along the Great Barrier Reef where simply firing a spear gun in the water three times will beckon the predators who are so used to associating that sensation with food. “Blood has to actually be transferred to them and yes, they can sense blood in the water at very low concentrations, but it still has to get to them. As Dr Bucher explains, “sharks have a very good long distance sense of vibrations in the water, particularly vibrations that indicate an injured animal. It is actually these vibrations, rather than any blood in the water, that attracts sharks most strongly. Spear hunting is particularly dangerous due to the “vibrations caused when the gun goes off, and the vibrations caused by the dead or dying fish.” ![]() Source: Shark Shield Spear fishing attracts sharks ![]() There are devices using electromagnetic waves in a way that could deter sharks but they can be considered cumbersome and at $749, don't come cheap(Shark Shield) They also cannot be used in areas around threatened grey nurse sharks. ![]() The downside is that ocean swimmers can find these devices cumbersome as they create drag when attached to their ankles. Research has found that the devices do have an effect on a shark’s behaviour in a way that may reduce the chance of an attack (however, the studies didn't involve humans, and instead used an attractive tuna burley lure). If it’s a shark that’s approaching cautiously, like most of them do when approaching a human (as we’re quite a big animal that might potentially be dangerous to the shark) and they get that unpleasant sensation, that can often be enough to put them off.” “The theory is that it gives it an unpleasant sensation rather like yelling in someone’s ears or shining a bright light in someone’s eyes. There are now a range of shark repellent devices on the market “that generate a strong electromagnetic field that basically overstimulates the shark’s senses,” Bucher explains. Source: giphy Consider a shark shielding device Sharks are particularly drawn to movements that indicate fish aren't swimming smoothly (Giphy) Whether stripes have a significant impact on lessening attacks is yet to be determined, according to Bucher.īut simply attaching a sticker with contrasting stripes to the bottom of your surfboard is a low cost, low technology solution that may be worth trying regardless. One idea is that black and white (or black and yellow) stripes break up your outline so you look less like a meal.īucher counters this point however, saying “most shark attacks would be on surfers from below where they’re silhouetted against the light the board’s going to be in shadow anyway regardless of the colour”.Īnother theory is that highly contrasting colours and patterns in nature often signal something poisonous or dangerous, so it could deter sharks for that reason. There are two separate theories as to why this contrasting pattern may work. “They now believe that most sharks - if not all - are colour blind,” says Dr Bucher, “So it’s not so much the actual colour but the contrast in colour that might be important. That’s why there’s been work on developing contrasting stripes for the bottom of surfboards or wetsuits.” Surfers and divers have long been warned to swap bright-coloured swimsuits for dull ones, and avoid wearing jewellery or anything shimmery in the water, but there's also the idea of designing your attire with shark repelling in mind. We asked marine ecologist and senior lecturer at Southern Cross University, Dr Daniel Bucher how best to minimise your chances of having an encounter with one. Wearing stripes might help, and the reason you’re safer inbetween the flags isn’t necessarily because of the crowds. ![]()
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