Shark Shield has been named by Choice, Australia’s leading independent consumer watchdog, as the only effective shark deterrent on the market. Following an extensive review of the shark deterrent options currently available, Shark Shield was the only deterrent shown to be independently tested and scientifically proven to turn sharks away.
According to Choice, “Shark Shield is the only electrical repellent on the market that’s been independently shown to be effective at deterring sharks from biting.” Choice author, Chris Doyle said the device worked by creating an electrical field along a 2m cord that trailed behind the wearer. Sharks have small gel-filled sacs in their snouts called ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’, short-range sensors used for feeding, so Shark Shield’s unique three-dimensional electrical waveform causes spasms in these sensors and effectively turns sharks away.
Recent independent research funded by the Western Australian State Government, as part of its investment in Shark Hazard Mitigation, lead by Professor Shaun Collin, Director of the University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, has proven the efficacy of Shark Shield’s technology.
Collins stated, “During testing Shark Shield successfully turned sharks away in nine out of ten times. We hope this research will ultimately lead to the development of new shark deterrent technologies in the future.” A renowned expert in his field, Collins also authored Electroreception in Vertebrates and Invertebrates published in the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, Oxford Academic Press 2010.
In 2012, Dr Charlie Huveneers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and Flinders University and his team also tested the effectiveness of Shark Shield. Part of this independent scientific testing used a seal decoy off the coast of South Africa, with white sharks seen to visibly abort attack charges with no surface breach observed with the Shark Shield device turned on.
Huveneers was quoted in the Choice report explaining, “the effectiveness...