SMOKY BAY, Australia (2 May 2002) -- Electronic shark repellent makers are defending their products after a shark attacked and killed Paul Buckland, a 23-year-old diver who diving off Smoky Bay in South Australia. Buckland was wearing a Shark POD, an electronic shark repellent originally developed in South Africa by the Natal Sharks Board. Chris Ran of SeaChange Technology, which recently launched Shark Shields told CDNN there are many unanswered questions about the attack and said Buckland was the first diver to die while wearing such a device. "It can be said categorically that there has never previously been an attack involving a wearer and we are talking about thousands of people using the technology in many parts of the world over seven years, and a comprehensive scientific test programme several years before that," said Ran. Electronic shark repellents work by emitting an electrical field which causes muscle spasms in sharks as they approach within four or five meters. | | Electronic shark repellents work by emitting an electrical field which affects sharks' nervous systems causing muscle spasms as they approach within four or five meters. But commercial divers in Australia are known to switch their units off to save battery power. Rann also pointed out that electronic shark repellents do not work unless submerged and according to police reports, Buckland was half out of the water when he was attacked. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
