Do you use a Shark Shield?????
Submitted by outdoinit on Fri, 2012-12-21 20:52
I have been diving for some time (ticket 1994) and have never worn a shark shield, have also seen my fair share of sharks and occasionally a big bastard.
Never bothered/harmed me or anyone else I have dived with in any way but with all the hype with attacks etc I am currently considering a purchase???
So i suppose my questions is if you dive do you wear a shark shield or not??? and if you do do they really work or just a product sold on fear??
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated..
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I've spent half my life fishing.. The other half I have wasted.. 
tiimmbo
Posts: 694
Date Joined: 16/08/09
I wear one and have done for
I wear one and have done for about a year or so now. I tend to turn it off when I am on the bottom and turn it back on when i surface. It can be a bit annoying when you are climbing into holes around reefs in tight confined spaces chasing crays and getting zapped. Does it work? Well I havent been eaten yet, I have seen a few bronzies that tend to take off when you get close to them, maybe they would have anyway I dont know. I will continue to use it until I am proved wrong though.
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Ditto, the sharks seem to
Ditto, the sharks seem to give it a bit of a wide berth.
r.gates
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 15/11/10
I wear one
Hi Lyndon
I've worn one now for 12 months and believe they work ok...never seen anything 'bitey' in the water so can't comment on if they work.
As tiimmbo said, getting zapped when the antenna wraps around your leg while hunting crays can be a pain (no pun intended) but at least you know it's working.....I leave mine turned on the whole time I'm in the water.
regards
rusty...
If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!
spinksy
Posts: 266
Date Joined: 06/10/10
Worn one
For a couple of years now been diving 15 years. 600 bucks isnt a bad investment in something that may save you in that situation we all dread. Mates sort of laughed at me when i first got it but after last year they all have them. I have two young kids so the missus made me get life insurance and income protection too cause she knows i will keep diving. never been zapped by my own sheild run it down the outside of my fin with 3 cable ties trails behind perfectly.. also if the velcro ever gave you wouldnt lose it.
GrahamM
Posts: 648
Date Joined: 19/01/09
As said above and I too have
As said above and I too have been diving for years and had a shark sheild for about 5 years I only used to wear it when shooting fish up north and I now wear it more than not due to the misses and kids. I have seen sharks come in on me and bugger off pretty quickly when they get too close for their comfort. So i do think they work and it gives you peace of mind when soing saftey /deco stops. It dose also sometimes get tangled in the reef when chasing crays ( the long tail ) and zap myself and buddies but its a small neucence for the peice of mind. I also will keep wearing it until something changes
derp000
Posts: 99
Date Joined: 22/02/10
I found this artical.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/great-white-ate-anti-shark-device/story-e6frg6p6-1111115683913
I Fish because.............
Habanero
Posts: 225
Date Joined: 19/06/12
Yes
They do work , was one of the first Spearo shops to bring them in about 8 yrs ago , wear them spearing in Fiji an see their effect on Oceanic Whitetips, Bulls and Tigers , you can see when they hit the "zone" , sends them packing...I wear one 90% of the time whilst spearing down here now , can be a hassel whilst cray grovelling tho...Have plenty in stock at present FW Price for Jan $590...
outdoinit
Posts: 1009
Date Joined: 05/10/12
Thanks for the Feed back.
As mentioned above it is cheap insurance on ones life... Besides there has been one fatal shark attack in Jurien way back in 68 and would like to keep it that way.. :-)
I've spent half my life fishing.. The other half I have wasted..
fishing fanatic
Posts: 809
Date Joined: 01/05/09
nope
never worn one and i have dove with many sharks from bronzies to great whites, this includes while shooting fish and burleying and even having 5+ around me at once sort of situations, people who wear them tend to see more sharks, and i have seen then work alright on a dirty great big hammer head, but most of the time if i dive with some one with a shield the sharks act the same towards them as they do to me. look up terra australis on vimeo they have done testing with the shark sheild up north.
ironpirate
Posts: 47
Date Joined: 20/09/12
Mine works fine 3 years old
Mine works fine 3 years old now ,it seems to piss them off and they move away.
wet lines
hornet42
Posts: 179
Date Joined: 24/07/12
Same as Car seat Belt
The misses said to me when we were talking about if we should buy a Shark shield each or not. When you get in the car you put on a seat belt with out thinking about it, and 99.99% of the time you did't need to, We have only seen 2 or 3 sharks down here off Bunbury. while diving has any body had trouble with them off Bunbury ?
PB Dhu 850 mm Pink 820mm
Paul G
Posts: 5215
Date Joined: 12/12/07
Jesse and I both have
Jesse and I both have one,haven't had a good chance to try it out ,may work ,may not .may find out in the abrolhos.
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dodgy
Posts: 4563
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Never used one however I have
Never used one however I have seen one dropped in front of about 10 2.5m bronzies in a frenzy and they too off in a hurry.
Hopefully we see nothing at the Abrolhos Paul.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
fishing fanatic
Posts: 809
Date Joined: 01/05/09
plenty of sharks there haha,
plenty of sharks there haha, some very cheeky buggers too, when you dive half moon on pelaert island you will see what i mean
Justin Poole
Posts: 225
Date Joined: 24/08/08
Balchin theiving hamer heads
Balchin theiving hamer heads at half moon bay. We had a tiger come in after a mate zoran shot a Spanish mac, Dave S swam next to him With SS on & video rolling and Tiger was soon on his way.
By Hook or Spear, its all good..
bronzey92
Posts: 72
Date Joined: 26/10/12
shark shield
Most sharks will be deterred from the shark sheild.
although i have heard that it doesn't affect great whites at times, for when they go into 'hunting' mode they shut off their metabolism - but im not 100% sure on that. but if it is true id be concerned because whites are really the only ones i fear when in the water.
i have also heard that the sheilds can somewhat spark the sharks curiosity - hence increasing your chances of seeing a shark but they'll still turn away as soon as they hit that field.
just my 2 cents anyway, never heard of many scuba divers getting so badly hassled by biggens anyway
Tantz14
Posts: 11
Date Joined: 27/12/12
Shark shield mythology
Ive been a commercial diver for 10 years, dived as a tuna diver in south australia for 3 years, i can categorically say they do not work on pointers! I believe they bring all sharks in through the electric current they transmit -- which is what sharks look for through the ampullae of lorrenzi, tiny holes on the end of there nose that receive current transmissions from distressed fish/animals and also detect blood in water. My experience is the small sharks are detered, wheras bigger ones of concern, in particular great whites, keep going. If you are truly concerned about great whites i suggest avoid spearfishing, diving near seal colonies and known whale migration paths, and dive in the middle of the day. These may not save you everytime, but theyll help.
Gadsy
Posts: 1467
Date Joined: 01/05/10
Not diving related but.........
I had a 3 metre Tiger Shark come and check me out in my kayak at the Abrolhos islands on Sunday (not long after I caught a Dhui).
My SS wasn't turned on when the shark appeared, but when I flicked it on the shark disappeared pretty quick.
Before that it circled me and was tailing me and looked mighty interested in me!
I'm happy with my SS, but as others have mentioned it might not stop a GW in full attack mode :(