WA
202 posts
Following the Gracetown tragedy is it worth revisiting the shark shield. Any one use one or had experience with one. ? The testimonials on their website seem pretty convincing. There was one spectacular failure in 08 when a white pointer attacked a tuna bait that was supposedly protected by a shark shield . Still the you tube video of a diver using one seemed pretty good.
http://www.sharkshield.com/Content/Home/
Thoughts go out to the poor chaps family. RIP
WA
8132 posts
Very tragic event beaten to a frenzy in the media.
Reality is you have more chance dying on the way to the surf in your car or drowning.
Easy for me to say sitting on the couch for the next 6 months
WA
726 posts
Had the local seal do its usual thing today while havin a paddle. They seem ta get their kicks commin up right beside ya without any notice.
Didn't seem as funny today as it usually is.
Guessin it will take a while for the nerves to settle down again
W
WA
150 posts
If you want some facts from Toronga Zoo Australian Shark Attacks.This is a document on all fatal shark attacks for the last 218 years. This is only for history not real time!
Shark Attack Statistics Australia
Worldwide estimates state that 30 to 100 people a year are attacked. Analysis of over 1,000 case histories world wide, from the International Shark Attack File suggests an average of 30% are fatal.
This is consistent with Australian figures of 28% fatal.
Earliest Australian recorded attack was in 1791, an indigenous female on the North Coast of NSW (fatal).
The following statistics are the compilation of reported shark/human interactions for over 218 years. Note: Last fatal attack in Sydney Harbour - Marcia Hathaway (1963). THe table below is a little hard to follow but if you read the numbers in this order (state. eg NSW)(TotalCases.eg 276)(fatal.eg 70)(injured. eg147)(uninjured.eg59 )(last fatality)
State. Total cases. Fatal. Injured. Uninjured. Last Fatality
NSW 276 70 147 59 2008 Ballina, Lighthouse Beach
QLD 246 73 150 23 2006 North Stradbroke Island
WA 98 15 62 21 2008 Port Kennedy Beach
SA 52 18 27 7 2005 Glenelg Beach
VIC 50 9 26 15 1977 Mornington Peninsula
TAS 21 5 9 7 1993 Tenth Is, Georgetown
NT 10 2 5 3 1938 Bathurst Island
Total 754 192 426 135 (as of 25/3/2010)
As of June 2009 for all Australian States combined:
In the last 20 years, there have been 24 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.2 per year. In the last 50 years, there have been 52 recorded fatalities due to shark attack = averages 1.04 per year.
Shark Attacks In Perspective:
There is an element of risk in any activity we undertake. To put the risk of being killed by a shark attack into perspective the following statistics illustrate the number of deaths associated with water related activities in Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Total Accidental Drowning & Submersion Surfboard Riding Rock Fishing Skin Diving Drowned while swimming at an ocean beach, a river, lake, & SCUBA harbour, estuary, bay, or lagoon.
1994 419 of which 3 14 27 79 were FATAL
1995 441 of which 2 13 14 68 were FATAL
There were no recorded fatalities from shark attack in Australia in 1994 and 1 in 1995.
Compared to fatalities from any other forms of water related activity the number of fatal shark attacks, from all reported shark encounters in Australia, is extremely low.
During the period 1969-2000, in NSW alone, 218 rock fishermen were swept off the rocks and drowned. In that same period 40 shark encounters were recorded with only 2 fatality reported. On average there are 80 drowning deaths each year (ref Beachsafe Newsletter, Issue 16, 2009).
Diving related deaths in Australia 1945 - 1987 = 292 (quote from Diving Accident Management in Australia, 1988). "Eleven Australians were killed by lightning in the years 1983 to 1986", (John Sedgwick, Lightning Natures Terrible Swift Sword, Readers Digest, January 1990).
On average there are 2-3 deaths per year from Bee stings in Australia (Dr van Nunen Royal North Shore Hospital Allergy Unit. Feb 3rd 1989. Manly Daily). Three people died from bee stings in 1995 (Aust. Bureau of Statistics). On average, there is around one person per year killed by shark attack in Australia over the last 218 years.
Any use of this information in any publication must be authorised by Taronga Zoo Public Relations Dept and contain appropriate accreditation to Taronga Zoo and the Australian Shark Attack File. Note: This document is regularly updated and revised, therefore numbers of recorded attacks and their outcomes are subject to change reflecting the new information available.
Contact Phone +61 2 9969 2777
Sorry for being long but if you got here you must have been curious!
WA
202 posts
I take your point that the chance of a fatal shark attack is extremely low and no doubt after awhile i shall get back to my previous mental equilibrium where i rarely thought about the possibility. However, at present , when i'm surfing the outer reef at Ledge point or thereabouts , alone , like this morning, and my mate Peter ( a Ledge Point local) has told me..." Hey jeremy the cray fishermen reckon there heaps of sharks out there. They see them all the time. )". Well I start looking at the weed shadows more closely, find my self scanning the water for movement , start feeling a vague sense of unease.... Now if a shark shield worked and it wasn' t a hassle I probably wouldn't think twice about sharks when im alone surfing like this morning. Thats why I'm curious if any one has used one and whether they were a hassle.
NSW
20 posts
I spoke to the rep last year about a shark shield for my prone paddleboard after having a couple of run ins with sharks and he said that unless the board is stationary so that the lead can have good contact with the water than they MAY not work as desired.
QLD
4177 posts
At least we have a paddle , and our legs arent dangling in the water.I guess thats one good thing about crowded Goldy Breaks your chances of getting hit are lower again.I do get a bit worried when doing downwinders by myself though.
But as they say when your times up your times up.
WA
642 posts
Im sure they had this discussion on the kiteforum a few years ago and I remember the spearfishermen saying they wouldnt use them as they actually attract sharks??
I will see if I can find the thread.
Before Brad Smith got eaten at Lefties the last fatal attack on a surfer was at Yallingup in the 60s.
