By Ashley Jeffery, Reporter
Last Updated: Sunday, July 27, 2014, 4:44 PM
To keep sharks at bay in local waters, an Australian based company is working on a product, named Shark Shield, that cuts down on close encounters.
“[The sharks] might come in but just close enough to where you could see them, then go away and stay on the outer perimeter of us,” said Chad Campbell of Suncoast Dive Shop.
“You wear [Shark Shield] on your ankle and this antenna trails behind you in the water and inside the antenna we’ve got two electrodes,” said Shark Shield GM Amanda Wilson.
The electrodes create an underwater electric field. When a shark comes close to someone wearing the shark shield, the device causes spasms and keeps the sharks away.
“It doesn’t cause any long-term damage, it just causes the muscular contraction of their snout,” said Wilson. “As soon as they’re outside of the field, that spasm stops.”
Shark Shield comes in three variations, with prices starting at $599.
