Shark eats anti-shark device

kris — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:30:33 +0000

The folks at SharkShield must be feeling pretty disappointed right now. Recently, while testing one of their anti-shark devices in the shark-infested waters of South Africa, a shark actually attacked and ate the device. I can only imagine the looks on their faces when it happened.

This spectacular product failure has fueled speculation that the electrical fields, that serve as the basis for SharkShield’s shark-repelling technology, may actually attract sharks and compel them to attack. The company claims that their shark-repelling technology works fine when you’re stationary, but not so much when you’re paddling or riding a wave. Since roughly 52% of a surfer’s time in the water is spent either paddling or riding waves, I’d say it’s a safe play to avoid using the SharkShield device. Link

Surfers are basically top-water shark lures

kris — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:55:11 +0000

Sharks like to eat seals. Everyone knows that.

NPR has a story about some shark researchers in South Africa, who lure sharks to strike simply by floating surfboards on the water.

"To a shark, apparently, a nice little six-foot swallowtail does a near-perfect imitation of a seal. When retrieved, the decoys were often missing hubcap-sized chunks from their sides"

Correction: sharks like to eat things shaped like seals.

Here’s a site dedicated to "all things sharky…and other aquatic antics."

» Sharks

Shark eats anti-shark device

Surfers are basically top-water shark lures