I would have thought efficacy was the main criterion with these products, not fashion. E.g. the guys with zebra wetsuits don't seem to care what they look like.
To be honest Bara I never read your quote mate until just now. It's a bit doom and gloom hey. Hope Santa brought you something nice.
JG it might sound like doom and gloom but we need to be very clear with how serious this is.
Both saltwater crocodiles and humpback whales were protected in the early 70's and numbers have now increased significantly. Humpback numbers have gone from 15,000ish to 100,000ish and there were estimated to be under 3000 salties in the NT in 1970. Almost 50 years later there are over 100,000 and is the we can't swim in the majority of waterways in the northern part of our country. I'm no scientist but looking towards 2050 i'm thinking that white shark numbers are going to explode.
I'm not saying a cull is the answer but we do need to start looking towards the future.
Why isn't there any video footage of them deterring a great white,Id have thought slipping the board over the side while those two behemoths were circling would be a good idea and if they did lets see the video results,Id also really like to know if the device attracts sharks first but I know thats near impossible to test.Anyway if it gets govt.subsidy ill be getting one for trips up north and to w.a.
Gents everyone knows I think we should knock the problem ones on the head.
ie: the one that has jumped out of the water in Mandurah a dozen times in falcon, it's hanging around and being a nuisance.
There is also the big tagged tiger shark off mullaloo at current it has pinged the receiver half a dozen times in as many days, why there isn't a drum line set at current is ridiculous.
if you go on sharksmart at current there is a million sightings all up n down the coast at current.
However this thread isn't about what I think should happen, it's about rpela.
I think Dave is a champion and certainly on the right path, in the future it is likely that with more design and research these shark repellents may become 100% effective however at current it would be irresponsible to put all of your faith in shark mitigation devices.
It is a fact that the shark shield brand attracts sharks to the general area, this is from dozens of anecdotal reports of abalone divers , spear fishermen, craypot recovery divers.
While these reports are not based on science they have been given by people who use the ocean every day and have done in many cases for decades on end. Their reports and information should be recognised and made publicly available which has not happened.
If I lived in reunion island I would of already bought a rpela unit as it seems effective for the situation they are experiencing.
Shark mitigation and reduction with encounters of humans will only happen if the below activities are initiated.
1) cease all shark cage diving
2) stop feeding great whites from boats ( peanuts)
3) kill sharks that hang out at beaches, ie Mandurah ie wedge
4) stop leasing Australian tuna licences to overseas investors ( fisheries west oz are a pile of dimwits)
5) this is where personal deterrents come in, once the above 4 items are part of beach culture and fisheries have their shiiiit together than there may be genuine benefit from having one.
Closing statement : When my kids are old enough to surf they will have a rpela fitted to their boards as some protection is better than nothing?????
The one thing that I will say is that at least statistically it works some of the time on the big sharks,,,,,,,,
I still want to kill a few sharks
Is there any accurate way to test if the unit is putting out enough current other than putting your hand on the electrode.Like to know especially as mines getting old .
Please find an informative article on how sharks hunt using electrical fields and how sharks prey try to avoid this
www.futurity.org/cuttlefish-cloak-electrical-fields-1060982/
The only way to bring some balance back without culling is to reduce large scale commercial fishing of our offshore waters such as long lining,.seine netting and the many other forms of fishing that deplete massive amounts of fish from baitfish right up to full size tuna etc.And I'm not talking about commercial fisherman running a trawler out of the local bay,Im talking large scale operations with a flotilla of boats feeding the mothership for onboard processing ready for sale product in huge amounts.No fish out wide g.w.sharks will come inshore for easier pickings such as salmon and tailor schools, used to be just bronzies ripping into salmon
Banning cage diving operations and shark tours would be a good idea as well.
Why dont people want dead whales removed from beaches?
Why dont people support the aerial patrols actually doing their job and sounding the sirens when something is spotted?
Why dont people demand that if a ranger is going to close a beach, he should do more than just stick a sign at the beach entrance, he should go notify the surfers in the water? One perfect example was a few months back at Inji's were the chopper noticed two large white sharks, reported them to SLSWA and flew away. No siren. Then the ranger stuck up a sign closing beach and left the 30 or so surfers clueless, until they got out and saw it..Next day same sharks were still in the bay and filmed..
How many dead whales rotting on beaches, really, how can people except that as acceptable
Don't want to "REDUCE" the risk with a device, no worries, but can we at least get agree the basics should be handled better..
Now to add to the mix, baited hooks in some places less then 300m from surfers..Whoopy..In 5 years we have gone backwards maybe 7..