Shark deterrent wetsuits

[Aussiebyron 57]

I came accross this company recently and was kind of shocked by the whole idea of these suits and the use of marketing to promote them as a much safer product to deter Shark attacks.

 

Have a look at their website. At first I thought it was a joke but it is actual company that is seriously trying to market these wetsuits to the general public.

 

http://www.sharkmitigation.com/index.html

 

I had to laught at the comment that if you wear the diving camo suit that you be "hidden" underwater.

 

The scary part of it is people will believe the marketing and buy and suit thinking that they are safer.

 

Regards Mark

[Autopsea 7]

I actually think the black and white stripped surf board could make a small difference in decreasing the risks. It have been show in the past that sharks swim away really fast when they meet a simple fake killer-whale. In shallow dirty waters it might make no difference, but since it's cheap to paint your own board, why not. Just don't pretend it's for camouflage, a man won't camouflage in front of a shark. : )

[Karl 7]

I like the fact that they used a 'dummy' to test the wetsuits - a dummy doesn't give of signals such as vibrations, scent etc in the water.

 

If they are so confident that their suit works I would like to see a video of one of them in it swimming with sharks - a big GWS or a Bull - and really prove that they are safe!!!

 

I dive every weekend in the waters of Cockburn Sound - just south of Perth - and the biggest shark I have ever seen is a Port Jackson and the carcasses of dead sharks killed for fun by local fishermen

 

Karl

[troporobo 244]

There might be something to the high-contrast stripes. In the Solomon Islands, where people have been"calling" sharks in traditional ceremonies for eons, the men paint their (dark) legs with white bands. They say it mimics the sea krait and lets the shark know not to attack them. I have actually seen people doing this in chest deep water with sharks swimming around them, so perhaps they know something?

 

Anyway, if this company is working with reputable academics, it should be easy enough to reference published research on the principles behind their desgn and learn if there really is evidence in support

[Drew 0]

I actually know one of the marine biologists who was part of the initial testing. Marketing aside, the preliminary results were reportedly positive. I also know Bob Lushey, whose company makes the wetsuits (he also makes the Radiator wetsuits, which are a very nice titanium lined wetsuit.).

I hope to test the wetsuit this year with naturally (non-chummed) frenzied sharks. It's not cheap @ $495 but then again, none of the Radiator suits are.

[Aussiebyron 57]

Well you might have the inside information Drew. Yeah its interesting that they have the proven science and technology for the wetsuits give that the field tests where started in January this year on baited up Tiger sharks. The WA uni's still has 18 months to go before finalizing the research. They still havnt stated what field tests they used to see if their Cryptic dive suits actual "Hide" you from the sharks..?

 

I had a look of SAMS FAQ on their website and they stated the following regarding the Cryptic dive suit:

 

Which style should I use for diving?

Short answer: At depth the camo patterns enable the wearer to be hidden.

Once at depth the Cryptic patterns will be more effective by hiding the wearer from sharks against the background of colours in a specific band of the reflective spectrum.

 

Then goes on:

 

To be fully protected with camo what about my hands, feet, face, BCD, tanks etc. Do I need to cover them?

Short answer: At this stage maximum protection is afforded by maximum coverage.

At this stage maximum protection is afforded by maximum coverage. Further testing is being undertaken to be applied to other equipment besides wetsuits

 

So they havnt actually tested the Cryptic dive suit when you wearing a tank, BCD, fins, mask..........?

 

When you come to think of it how is Cryptic suit going to work when its cover by a BCD and with tank....?