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Thread: shark shield

  1. #31

    Re: shark shield

    Horse, let us remain in the realm of reality shall we. It is impossible to spear without a gun/fins and a suit in winter. If you want to compare apples with apples then I would say wearing a shield because you are worried about sharks is the same as putting on a tank because you are worried about SWB. It gives you an unfair advantage. It wasn't all that long ago that spearing on scuba was legal ( it still is in WA) but if I was caught doing it now I can only imagine the cries of "thats cheating" that would fly from the shield wearing lobby. How about I buy an electric scooter so I can cover more country and kill even more fish... then i wont have to worry about getting stuck in a current and being washed away from the boat Where does it all end guys ??

  2. #32

    Re: shark shield

    Holy sh#t touchy subject ey, love it. I support both sides of the coin, I'm not guna buy 1 cause they zap me when ever I'm near them and would rather spend the money on better fins or another new gun. 2 years ago while out on the reef on a deep drop off I was 10m down untangling a big trout from the reef when from behind something pushed hard into the reef edge, I looked around and was staring a 5m Tiger (not exagerating 2 witness's) in the face, as brave as I could (nearly died of heart failure) I took off for the surface in total fear. my quick movement actually scared the sh*t out of the shark as much as he scared me. So here I was on a reef edge that was 40m deep gun still tangled 10m down and this shark came back for another look, This time I was able to remain calm as it had not surprised me and it just swam away slowly and we didnt see it again. The shark shield was not needed but I def wouldn't have a prob with 1 being there to stop that happening in the 1st place. The big tigers up this way dont actually scare me but all the dumb ass bull sharks do them things do random stupid stuff like bite floats and fins for no reason at all and get very agressive when we have fish and get more agressive when poked in the nose with a spear.I can totally see why people would want 1 but I'm not guna buy 1 they are not needed with knoledge your safe. If I was ab diving there'd be no question it'd be as important as a mask or wetsuit as your mind is elswhere. Would love 1 to hang under the boat to keep them off my reds when line fishing though.

  3. #33

    Re: shark shield

    Quote Originally Posted by DAZMC1 View Post
    I will tell you now that they work but they really piss sea snakes off when they try to wrap around them.
    The last thing I would want to do is upset a sea snake, I would crawl over a shark to put it between a pissed off sea snake and me.

    I know of a guy who upset a sea snake and shot a spear into the bottom of a dive boat trying to shoot it. He ended up climbing into the dingy being towed behind the boat and as he swamped the dingy the snake got dragged in as well.
    Both diver and snake survived without any injuries, but the owner of the boat was really pissed.

    Quote Originally Posted by Badone View Post
    Horse, let us remain in the realm of reality shall we. It is impossible to spear without a gun/fins and a suit in winter.
    Badone maybe you should Harden up.

    For 4 years we use to dive summer or winter without a wetsuit (they were too expensive for us to buy back then).
    In winter we would spear for 30 to 45 minutes and then get out to warm up before getting back in again.
    This was in South Australian waters that make the water up here feel like a spa even during winter.
    This is exactly the same argument you have for the shield, only a lot more effective, it did not rely on a shark showing up.
    I would not even suggest someone should not wear a wetsuit, it makes the diving more enjoyable. The same way the shield makes the diver feel a bit safer.
    I agree that divers should learn sea-wise knowledge, but I don't think a shield is stopping this from happening. It might actually help by lessening the fear of sharks in some people and allow them to see how a shark really behaves, not like an eating machine there to eat divers.
    With experience the diver may even decide to leave the shield in the boat and enjoy watching sharks up close, or at least leave the shield with the float so they can retreat to it if needed.
    I am not saying every one should go out and buy a shark shield, to be honest it is not really needed for most of the dives. The chance of a serious shark incident is really low even when spearing.
    Some divers have this macho mentality and will criticize others. When I hear some of these guys, especially on charter boats, it makes me laugh. I think how we first went diving and would make these guys look like wusses. We didn't dive like that because we wanted to be heroes, we just had no choice and done it anyway.
    I believe diving should be as enjoyable as possible.
    To some a shark shield adds to the comfort of the dive, just like a wetsuit and I don't think anyone should criticize someone for wanting to use either.

    Quote Originally Posted by D river View Post
    The big tigers up this way dont actually scare me but all the dumb ass bull sharks do them things do random stupid stuff like bite floats and fins for no reason at all and get very agressive when we have fish and get more agressive
    I've had a couple of encounters with tigers, the only thing that upset me was I couldn't get close enough to photograph them. They can get very timid sometimes when you swim towards them, but they can also turn quite nasty.
    Coming face to face with one unexpectedly I would have soiled my wetsuit.

    I don't like bull sharks, they are unpredictable and like to come up from behind. This is where I wear a shark shield, don't want them sneaking up on me when the visibility is low. Don't need distraction while concentrating on photographing fish.
    Not scared of being eaten, but even an exploratory bite would hurt like hell.

    Ian

  4. #34

    Re: shark shield

    Defore I agree, I DO need to harden up (not as much as some others though) but that is a new topic altogether. Arguing that diving with a wetsuit is the same as diving with a shield just doesn't make sense. Fair enough if you want to swim around in the shallows and shoot bream or red mowies but try diving any deeper than 20m when you are freezing your arse off. It is impossible, not hard but impossible as your breath hold ability reduces to just about zero when you are cold. A wetsuit is essential to diving well, a shark shield nothing but a luxury.
    To change the subject, did you know Greg Pickering from SA? One of this country's best divers. He has dived that part of the coast for the last 30 yrs and still going well.

  5. #35

    Re: shark shield

    Badone still can not see the difference. Your argument is the shield allows a diver to stay in the water with sharks around (I don't think I would stay in the water) and continue to kill fish, not giving the fish a sporting chance.
    Wetsuits were designed to allow a diver to go deeper and remain in the water longer.
    "It is impossible, not hard but impossible as your breath hold ability reduces to just about zero when you are cold"
    I have known some guys who can do remarkable depths in very cold water without wetsuits, so if you can not do that then maybe it gives the fish a fighting chance.
    You would have to wait till the water warms up.

    Is it possible that the development of the wetsuit has contributed to the demise of fish stocks in some areas. With divers now spearing fish all year round instead of only during the warmer months?

    Quote Originally Posted by Badone View Post
    Well guys why don't we take all the variables out of spearfishing. Lets have 3 metre guns so we can shoot fish from the surface then all the old fat guys can get fish as well, also we can breath up on oxygen before each dive then we will have 3min bottom time, in fact why dont we just power-head all the sharks from our local area then we can just spear to our hearts content without having to give the noahs a thought at all.
    I have also seen some guys use a small oxygen bottle, but it didn't really seem to give them much of an advantage. They were probably just shit divers anyway.

    On the subject of power-heads, I had a mate who actually did try and clear the are of sharks. What we saw was that the rotting carcass of a shark seemed to have the effect of keeping sharks away, but a freshly killed shark would attract other sharks that were in the area.
    I had a power-head (357 magnum) when they became cheaper. Carried it for 3 years and never used it. The problem with powerheads (besides killing innocent sharks) is you would never get a chance to use it against an attacking shark, unless it was already attached to the speargun.

    "did you know Greg Pickering from SA" I have heard of a Pickering, but have never met him. I think he had something to do with the Scuba club we were associated to.

    Ian

  6. #36

    Re: shark shield

    I wonder if the sucker works on crocs, anyone know? When I lived on Moa Island [Torres Strait] it was not that unusual to swim over a croc lying on the bottom especially on the northern end of St Pauls. One decent lizard used to sun himself regularly on Burruga in front of the IBIS Store. An Islander who off sided for me had names for them all as he speared crays there every few days. He could recognise them by sight.

  7. #37

    Re: shark shield

    Quote Originally Posted by sagair View Post
    I wonder if the sucker works on crocs
    Only if it was actually eating the unit I'd think

  8. #38

    Re: shark shield

    ROTFLMAO, cheers

  9. #39

    Re: shark shield

    sagair I don't think it would be that effective on crocs, it doesn't work on wobbegong sharks and rays.
    They have their electrical sensors on the bottom.
    I have had the antenna sitting 10cm next to a wobby's tail and even though the tail was twitching at the same time to the units pulse, the wobby just lay there happily.
    When the antenna dropped over the back of the wobby it took off real quick and then rubbed upside down on the sand like it was trying to rub off a parasite, then it lay down on the sand again.

    If you were to swim over a croc and the antenna was to brush against it I think the croc would not be too happy

    Like boney-leg said. it might be different if the croc tried to eat it, I'm not game enough to give it a try. I might be an idiot, but I am not crazy.

    Ian

  10. #40

    Re: shark shield

    One bloke started this post by ASKING FOR OPINIONS on wether or not a shark shield for surfing was viable for spearing. Now your all arguing over who's opinion is worth more and who is allowed to voice their opinion based on what it stands for. this is rediculous.
    I gave mine short and sweet. if u dont value it then take it with a grain of salt. no harm done to anybody.
    think a few ppl here really need to either go for a dive or have a good root.
    ease the tension boys.
    josh.

  11. #41

    Re: shark shield

    Quote Originally Posted by finding_time View Post
    Why dont you just run the shark shield of your float?? This will save the zapping issues! ( it does give you a buzz when it gets you!!)
    as then your float will be protected from sharks and you won't be the units work a radius of around 3-4m. wouldn't dive without one anymore, fantastic.

  12. #42

    Re: shark shield

    Quote Originally Posted by Defore View Post
    sagair I don't think it would be that effective on crocs, it doesn't work on wobbegong sharks and rays.
    They have their electrical sensors on the bottom.
    I have had the antenna sitting 10cm next to a wobby's tail and even though the tail was twitching at the same time to the units pulse, the wobby just lay there happily.
    When the antenna dropped over the back of the wobby it took off real quick and then rubbed upside down on the sand like it was trying to rub off a parasite, then it lay down on the sand again.

    If you were to swim over a croc and the antenna was to brush against it I think the croc would not be too happy

    Like boney-leg said. it might be different if the croc tried to eat it, I'm not game enough to give it a try. I might be an idiot, but I am not crazy.

    Ian
    Cheers Mate, Yes, the only thing that frightens a croc is a bigger croc or a rifle shot. After diving on the north east corner with my mate I discussed it with my Islander Uncle and asked if croc's display any body language before an attack. [ Like whaler sharks do etc]. Typical Island humour reply I got was, " Only fella that subie that already kaikai"
    Moa Island Cray below.

  13. #43

    Re: shark shield

    Nicko

    not true mate! As i explained earlier, we used one that was attached to a deco station for when we had real long blue water decompression to do! The unit was never left on but in the event that something big turned up we would turn the shark shield on till it would leave then swich the unit back off again! I have seen the unit work on a very large tiger, a overly inquisitive 4m oceanic white tip and a large threasher all sharks left the area immediately the unit was swiched on , none of the sharks was within 25m of the deco station when it was turned on yet left immediately. It may only be advertised to work over a small range but i can assure you even at a fair distance shaks find the sensation very annoying and leave. The idea to have it attached to the float is that once a the sharks behavior gets to annoying you have somewhere to go that has a relative safety! I used to spear abit and particularly on the reef the first shark turns up fairly quickly then a second then a third but at some point things just change and there behavior gets agitated now this is when i used to head to the boat but at times it would have been much nicer just to have had to swim the 35m back to my float!
    Alcohol doesn't agree with me, but i sure do enjoy the argument!!!

  14. #44

    Re: shark shield

    Sagair, now THAT is a cray!!!!!]
    If it doesn't work on wobbies I wouldn't use one on the reef, personally I reckon they are the biggest menace they are pr#%ks of things and the big ones would easily drown you.
    Finding time that is a great scenario for their usage in a bluewater situation.
    Josh, 'good root' - please explain.......

  15. #45

    Re: shark shield

    I don't know anything about shark shields so this may be a stupid question, why does this thingo repel sharks but not the target fish?

    Post-edit : OK, just read Ian's bit about electrical sensors. Do fin fish have no such thing or are sharks just more sensitive to electrical pulses?

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