Author Topic: Post-worthy shark tips  (Read 2902 times)

Dusk Patrol

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« Last Edit: September 23, 2020, 10:07:14 AM by Dusk Patrol »
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PonoBill

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2020, 08:47:11 AM »
Pretty good recommendations except for the last one. I've never understood the difference between someone seeing a shark and no one seeing a shark. They're there anyway. Yes, there might be a reason, but it's far more likely that there isn't. It seems pretty pointless.

We're going to see endless shark stuff this winter since 2020 has been a pretty big year for shark attacks, meaning that there have been some. The numbers are so low that there no way to draw a statistical conclusion from them other than the usual anecdotal stuff like "fishermen say there are more sharks, something should be done!".  The article says the USA has 350,000 drowning deaths per year. Someone has a problem with zeros, it's more like 3500 people drown in the USA every year, and the GLOBAL average is four shark fatalities per year. Yes, Australia has knocked that out of the park with four fatalities this year. Four. Yikes. People generally are not phobic about drowning, or dogs, or coke machines falling on them, but sharks scare the shit out of almost everyone. So it's big news. 
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justsomeguy

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2020, 09:41:48 AM »
I liked the one about painting eyes on the bottom of your board.  Potential business opportunity there, selling adhesive eyes to surfers to stick on bottom of their board. But then I was thinking, maybe that would only draw the attention of an even bigger shark since you look like an even bigger piece of bait, with smaller bait (i.e. your feet) swimming around it.
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Califoilia

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2020, 02:17:00 PM »
I liked the one about painting eyes on the bottom of your board.  Potential business opportunity there, selling adhesive eyes to surfers to stick on bottom of their board. But then I was thinking, maybe that would only draw the attention of an even bigger shark since you look like an even bigger piece of bait, with smaller bait (i.e. your feet) swimming around it.
You mean like this business? - https://www.sharkeyesusa.com/  ;) :D
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oakfish

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2020, 06:09:18 AM »
With several notable exceptions (eg avoiding fishing areas and seals) most of these tips are hype and not based on science.  They are simply the author's hypotheses.  As Pono pointed out, shark bites are very, very rare.  So rare, in fact, it would be impossible to use existing data to determine any statistically meaningful correlations between things like "board size" and probability of a bite. Eyes on the bottom of a surfboard? Are you kidding me? Reminds me of the silly Shark Banz bracelets. I bet they have a 100% success rate. You know why? Because shark bites are so rare that it is unlikely that anyone wearing a shark banz would get hit.
I think one important consideration is the type of sharks in your line up.  If there are species that target marine mammals (eg whites) avoiding seals is a good idea and contrast on the surface *may* be important. If you are in southern waters in the summer, you are mostly surrounded by sharks that target fish (eg blacktips) that will give you a nasty bite if surprised but are unlikely to hit you at the surface based on contrast.
Yes, I recognize the 2nd paragraph is full of MY hypotheses.  But at least I present it as such and not as fact.

PonoBill

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2020, 08:13:01 PM »
Amen. I'm a bit of a broken record about this, but people are truly weird about sharks. As a marketer I have to admire the sleazy genius of Sharkbanz and products like that, which have absolutely no value as a shark deterrent but consistently make money. I think they need to combine horoscopes, angels and magnets into a dumbfuck trifecta to substantially bump their sales.

As oakfish says, shark attacks are so rare that there is NO deterrent that can be proved to be either effective or ineffective--however far you stretch the bounds of statistical relevance. So Sharkbanz is quite safe--no one can prove they aren't effective--or are effective. The recent fatality in Australia happened at a beach that was theoretically safe--behind shark nets and carefully patrolled. And no, before you post the "proof", videos of sharks turning away are not proof. That's just patience and editing. You aren't seeing the occasions where the sharks tore the sharkbanz dummy to bits.

Yup, there are sharks in the ocean, but we are not what they are hunting. That's the only deterrent. And it's working really well.
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oakfish

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2020, 07:33:11 AM »
Also, don't forget that millions of dollars have been spent on shark deterrent research in commercial fisheries worldwide, paid by both governments and the commercial fishing industry.  Beyond the very small directed shark fishery, commercial fishermen do not want to deal with sharks. They are not valuable and they destroy expensive fishing gear.  Furthermore, some sharks are not at healthy population levels, so there is an incentive to avoid them.
All this research has produced ZERO effective shark deterrents. Magnets, electricity, chemicals, you name it, it isn't effective. If someone figures it out, it will be the fishing industry because they have the money and incentive.
One more point...don't forget that "shark" isn't a species.  It is a group of species, all with their own life history traits, habits, and niches.  Humans and dogs are both mammals, but cat shit repels the former and attracts the latter. Some sharks are drawn to outboard motors, some sharks aren't. Some sharks seem annoyed by electrical currents, so aren't.  I think it is highly unlikely we'll ever find a deterrent that is effective for "sharks." Maybe we'll find something for tiger sharks, but that may attract bulls.  We may find something for hammerheads, but that may attract whites.

toolate

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Re: Post-worthy shark tips
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2020, 04:27:23 PM »
speaking of sharks, my break in honolulu has had em plenty this past month. Big Bait ball in at the beach brining em in. sandbar and others.
Pretty much every day see three or 4.
The main attraction has been to see them breaching near you!
that one takes some getting used to

 


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