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Electronic Device Fends Off SharksRonald Porep, SafetyIssues |
Volume 1 Issue 5April 2002 |
| A swimming coach from Ohio was bitten on the arm by a shark in the Atlantic Ocean as he waded toward shore in chest-high water. Matthew May, 29, suffered lacerations that will require skin grafts, but his doctor said he will make a full recovery. | |
| May was in the water near the Commercial Boulevard fishing pier when he felt a pain on his left arm. He saw a "blue-black haze" in the water. He struck the shape with his right hand, and it let go. "I thought at first it was probably a jellyfish. Then I saw there was blood in the water and blood running down my arm, and I realized it was serious,” describes May. May’s was the fifth attack by a shark this year in Florida which leads the nation in shark attacks according to George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. |
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| Of 76 confirmed shark attacks worldwide last year, 37 took place in Florida. This year could well see an increase in Florida, simply because the state's population continues to rise and that puts more swimmers in the water. Unlike the attacks seen in such popular movies as Jaws, the typical shark attack is a quick bite, a release and an injury that was not life threatening. But the attack could give the victim an extreme scare when it happens. | |
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That is why an Australian company has created an electronic device to make sharks stay away from humans in the water. The electronic shark repellent unit is a miniature version of cumbersome anti-shark pods used to protect triathletes in Sydney Harbor during the 2000 Olympics and worn by abalone divers. Weighing in at just a pound, the device attaches to a swimmer's ankle and emits an electronic field to ward-off sharks. It has a battery life of two hours. A slightly larger unit for scuba divers weighs 590 grams (1.3 lb) with a battery life of four hours. |
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The unit, developed by
SeaChange
Technology Pty Ltd., was tested in waters off South Australia and
South Africa, both renowned Great White habitats. The device repelled
sharks at about two to three meters (six to nine feet) from a swimmer –
not as far as most of us would like being away from a shark but far enough
so a shark will not be able to bite. The diver's pack repelled sharks at four to five meters (12 to 15 feet). The unit repeals the ferocious sharks by emitting an electronic field that affects the shark's nervous system through sensitive receptors near its snout. An initial mild discomfort increases as the shark approaches the field until it causes intolerable muscle spasms. "It puts out a very precise electrical field that sharks perceive because of a hunting sense they have. So as sharks get closer to you they will veer away very rapidly as it becomes uncomfortable for them, but it doesn't cause them any lasting harm. It also does not impact on any other marine creatures or humans,” describes Jerry Kleeman, managing director of SeaChange which is also working on electronic shark repellant units which can be used to create a safety zone off the back of boats and yachts and a larger version for beach protection. That security will make shark victims like May feel better the next time they enter ocean waters even though the experts claim the chances of being attacked by a shark are about the same as winning a lottery. May’s chances of being attacked were increased by a few factors. May was in the water near the fishing pier, where baited hooks draw fish that draw sharks. Another factor in the attack may have been the warmer weather. As the temperature rises, sharks migrate north up the East Coast and these sharks are more active so they need to spend more time hunting for food. "What we're seeing here is the beginning of shark-human season. We're getting the sharks moving northward as the water temperature rises,” describes Dr. Burgess of why swimmers on the East Coast of the United States and Canada may be encountering sharks a lot more and why the SeaChange device is something you should be wearing on that next coastal vacation. |
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