Shark Shield............lets hope the batteries are Energizers.

[BOAS_N_PYTHONS]

Found this an interesting read, hope the batteries don' t fail cause the moment JAWS is that close you got no time flip out

Divers embrace anti-shark device

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."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/02/21/s...ark/index.html

Tony

[gargoyle]

It's gotta be better than the liquid stuff they've been using for a decade, that once you're out,,,,,you're really out! I'd love to see some videos of it actually working on shark dives though, at least before I go down with it!

[varanus69]

yeah i think i would want to make sure those batteries are charged up fully lol.

[Rikki]

Wow, that is very interesting. Great read, I wonder how it will actually turn out.

[Cruciform]

I've seen videos of this from when it was a prototype in a documentary a few years ago. It's like someone slapped the shark in the face.

The closest non-technological result they've had so far is black and white striping that mimics cleaner fish. Doesn't work on all sharks though. But on the ones it does work on they'll home in on a tube full of chum and snap it down. Then they put the black and white striped sleeve on it, and they always veer away within a few feet of it. Not quite as dramatic as the shield but still pretty cool.

I'd definitely want to put stripes on the bottom of a surfboard.

[Herpguy2004]

i saw a thing on discovery channel just the other day about it. seems to work pretty good. they were testing it by diveing into areas with lots of great whites. does look like they get slapped in the face! lol