Let the Dance begin!

Beware - click for detail!

Yes this would be a bloody Cat 1.

Obviously, at this stage it's only a forecast - but the different pages are all showing it, so keep an eye on this and this page, and obviously on the relevant warning page of the FMS.

This is the cyclone outlook for this season.

You know what to do!

 

Ronda Rousey - Mental Midgetry?

Shark conservation messaging, or whatever, by fucking Shark GENIUS PdG - source.

And I cite,

It is a good, well constructed show with professional and scientific insight 

Right.

That was good old Riley who STILL desperately wants to be somebody in Sharks, or whatever, and STILL just does not get it and STILL publicly pals with human garbage.

Anyway, along with many reputable presenters, experts and shooters, we did obviously turn it down as we will categorically not host any shoot for Shark Week as long as they continue to air those horrible exploitative programs, and showcase those pathetic self promoting media whores and their pathetic feats.

Back then I called it mental midgetry. 

But I was wrong. It is so much worse than that.

Watch.

See what I mean?

No blame goes to poor naive Rousey and husband  who have been obviously conned into believing that any of that is in any way an accomplishment. 

But seeing how all that fabricated gratuitous and misleading hype by those fucking self important morons is portraying sweet old Blunt, Gillette, Crook and Granma as lethal killer machines really gets my blood boiling. How dare they!
And no you fucking hypocrite: it is not epic, it is fucking pathetic!

And the bloody operator?

Need I really point out the idiocy of publicly allowing a total beginner to feed your Sharks on your dive - and of allowing another total amateur and untrained ignoramus to pose as a feeding expert? 

Is this maybe the reason why Aqua Trek have shortly thereafter fired Brandon their fucking GENIUS Shark whisperer, and this apparently with cause? Hardly - but here's to that, and good riddance; and here's to the guys down the road using this as an opportunity for some fucking reflection, and to them and others (...) stopping to enable all those revolting Shark porn media that are ultimately harming Fiji's reputation as a Shark ecotourism destination!

Anyway.

Like an old broken record, let me repeat - over and over and over again.

Here are my own questions to fellow Shark diving operators and conservationists.

• Are we gonna continue to pretend this (read!) is not happening?

• Are we gonna continue to watch that shit?

• Are we the operators gonna continue to enable it?

• Are we gonna continue to give our business to operators who do?

• Are we gonna continue to admire and to associate with those people?

Questions questions!

PS - Comments: please post them here & not on Facebook. Thanks!

Scavenging Tiger Sharks!

Source.

That's a whole lotta Tiger Sharks!

I've missed this when it came out - but better late than never.

Story here - enjoy!

Scuba-diving Lizard!

Amazing - watch.



Story with further links here!
 

Fishing for Sharks in Fiji - Paper!

Click for detail! 

How times change!

Remember Kerstin's master thesis and subsequent paper about coastal fishing in Fiji? 

Back then when she did her survey a mere five years ago, the data revealed that most caught Sharks were primarily being kept in order to sell the fins to the local bêche-de-mer traders who in turn would export them to Asia.

Not so nowadays.

Kerstin has once again interviewed dozens of fishermen all across Fiji and the news is not good. On top of discovering that indiscriminate overfishing and poaching have very unfortunately become ubiquitous, Shark fishing has fundamentally changed.

As the Asian demand, and thus the prices for the fins have crept ever lower, and as most middlemen have vanished due to the closure of the local bêche-de-mer trade, most caught Sharks are now being caught incidentally and consumed directly by the fishermen themselves. This is very much in line with international developments (and here! and here!) where as the prized Fish are being fished away, the once-eschewed Shark meat is increasingly being consumed as an alternate source of protein.

And where Sharks are still being targeted by small-scale commercial fishermen, it is for the local trade in the Fish markets where Shark meat is being sold as a cheap alternative to chicken and where you can buy a bundle of neonate Sharks for a fistful of dollars, but also in order to sell the fins directly to the local Asian restaurants.

This is obviously of concern.

Whereas trying to manage the fishery by monitoring the trade is comparatively easy, trying to monitor thousands of subsistence fishermen is not; and it is also of particular concern to us to discover that the fishermen are targeting the juveniles of Scalloped Hammerheads and especially Bull Sharks in the river nurseries, see the graph at the top.

Solutions?

Look no further than this commitment by Fiji at the 2017 UN Ocean Conference where I'm highly confident that good things will happen sooner rather than later. And when that eventuates, we will be standing ready to assist with the monitoring and enforcement like announced.

And yes: please Adopt Your Shark Now!

But I'm digressing as always.

Enjoy Kerstin's paper!

 

Lupe: some Justice at last!

Well well.

Check this out.

Rumor has it that the vessel was carrying Amos along with a complement of his extra lucrative clients - and if so and if the past is any indication, it obviously raises the issue of illegal out-of-cage dives, and illegal dives with the vessel's submarine. 

Rumor also has it that the so-called bogus citizen science expedition was fronted by Mauricio who continues to show extraordinary bad judgement and may now find himself permanently stripped of his research permit.

Anyway.

Good to see that the authorities have finally intervened and put an end to the pathetic shenanigans. Far from being a legit research vessel like they claim, the M/Y Sharkwater has been engaging in illegal tourism by publicly offering trips to known diving destinations like Guadalupe, Malpelo and Cocos, and then barging in by pretending that its paying passengers are "donors" and "citizen scientists" and not tourists, this in order to brazenly circumvent the relevant proper licensing processes. In that, notorious Fins Attached supremo Alex Antoniou continues in the tradition of Marie Levine's travel agency, the infamous fake Shark Research Institute to which he and Amos, and such luminaries as Ritter and Collier are, or used to be affiliated, or whatever. I can't believe I'm saying this: but this shit makes Fisher and OCEARCH who at least try to get the permits look like pillars of propriety!
Needless to say that the local operators who have spent millions developing, promoting and nurturing those sites are not amused.

So here's to this being the beginning of the end of that shit.

Let's hope that the authorities in Cocos, Malpelo and Socorro have been alerted and will do what needs doing; let's hope that group leaders and dive tourists alike stop booking and promoting that shameless travesty; let's hope that whoever is silently financing the vessel stops doing so - or even better, transfers it to a legit operator, be it in tourism or in real scientific research.
And finally, let's also hope that Mauricio will finally start using his brain, disassociate himself from this fraud, resign as expedition leader and generally speaking, stop enabling all those frauds and charlatans who pretend to be his friends in order to gain access to Guadalupe. 

And Arauz?

I'm not hopeful alas.
Witnessing how he is stabbing in the back the very Undersea Hunter Group and Okeanos Aggressor who have assisted him for decades, points to some deep-seated ethical rot. But karma has a way of quietly meting out justice, so here's to that.

And anyway, as always we shall see.

Fingers are crossed!

Shark Attack in the Red Sea!

Remember?

This is bad - watch in HD.

As to what exactly happened.

Apparently there was no bait *- and for once I tend to believe that. 

One very knowledgeable friend speculates that the victim may have gotten in the way of the OWT who was targeting the dude in the shorts, and that the OWT did bite him in order to chase away a perceived competitor in what would be a case of agonistic behavior.

I beg to differ: to me this looks like a quintessential predatory attack. 

What strikes me is how small that Shark is, meaning that it may be a subadult who is still experimenting, or not a very good hunter and thus particularly famished, or just a particularly bold individual - but of course we will never know as per this unforgotten brilliant post by Rick.

Story here.

If there is some lesson to be learned from all of this, it escapes me ** - maybe with the exception of the fact that playing possum when faced with a pesky predator may not be the best strategy!

Anyway.
Let's go Shark diving!

* or maybe there was?
** or maybe not = read the rather shocking comments in the above link!
  

My Fiji Shark - Video!

Behold!

Great job by Natasha and by Dave of Magnum Productions.
Watch in 1080p and enjoy!



And, please, Adopt Your Shark Now - it is for a good cause!

Vinaka!

My Fiji Shark - Sharks are like Journalists!

Netani accepting a plaque made from ocean plastic from UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji Country Director and Head of Pacific Regional Policy and Programme, Bakhodir Burkhanov

Very witty indeed.

Check this out.

Netani Rika is a stalwart of the SoPac's journalism fraternity, and seeing him not only endorse our project, but also publicly walk the talk is a great satisfaction indeed.

So well done, and a big Vinaka Vakalevu.

Oh and... Adopt Your Shark Now! :)

My Fiji Shark - Post by Tom!

Very nice as always!

Read this.

Tom is obviously a good pal and may be a tad biased - but this is really a good thing and if you haven't yet, please go over and explore the awesome website, courtesy of our indefatigable Head of Conservation and Program Coordinator Natasha.

And, please, Adopt Your Shark Now!

Vinaka!

PS - Martin here. Vinaka!

My Fiji Shark - Info!

Did you check out the website?

Like it? :)
The whole stellar project is the brain child of our new shareholder and newly minted Director of Conservation Tashi Blue who has personally developed the concept and then very much personally implemented all its components from coming up with the concept to coming up with the different perks and upgrades to designing and then programming the website and curating all the outreach via social media and mailings, to coordinating with and physically meeting our partners to taking the vast majority of images and writing all the personality descriptions - and the list goes on and on.
If all the raw passion and dedication are any indication, this will be a huge success!

So like promised.
This is how our probably rather surprising cooperation with the UNDP's Pacific Office has come about.

We were contacted by the UNDP several months ago.

The backdrop were the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in general and SDG 14 = Life Below Water in particular. 

They told us that they wanted to explore alternative solutions and financing mechanisms by partnering with the private sector as opposed to embarking on the usual NGO route, and that we had come to their attention due to our long track record in conservation and ecotourism.

We gladly agreed to a meeting.

Ever since the historic Fiji-led Ocean Conference (and here), we knew that something big was brewing and have been exploring avenues to lend a helping hand if and when Government would pull the trigger and start with the implementation. At stake are not only Fiji's Shark and Ray commitment but among several others, this specific pledge for delivering improved coastal fisheries management. 

Like I said yesterday, the SoPac is running out of fish, and Fiji is certainly no exception. 

Case in point, as Kerstin has been repeating her ground-breaking interviews, it has become sadly apparent that the situation has since deteriorated considerably whereby as the price of seafood keeps increasing,  overfishing and poaching especially here in Viti Levu have become ubiquitous. In essence, we are witnessing what has already happened elsewhere, i.e. that more and more previously artisanal subsistence fishermen have morphed into small-scale commercial fishermen, with locally devastating consequences - and like already stated, we surely cannot hope to succeed in conserving Shark populations if we continue to obliterate their prey and destroy their environment!

Possible solutions?

Look no further than this old post advocating community involvement and ecotourism, etc, etc - but of course the controversy about who really owns Fiji's traditional fishing grounds, or quoliqoli is far from being resolved and Government resources remain scarce.

Anyway.

Sorry it is so long, and for the many links - but as always in the real world it is complicated!

Back to My Fiji Shark.

We did meet several times and after some lengthy brainstorming, we resolved to focus on two principal projects

• Assisting Government in implementing and enforcing any upcoming Shark and Ray management and conservation measures. This would involve launching a nifty and innovative campaign and likely cost approx. FJD 20,000.00 in its first year, after which the fines collected would hopefully cover the costs.

• Developing and funding several community-based 5-year pilot projects that would trial some simple yet hopefully effective coastal fisheries management measures, this in view of hopefully upscaling them to national level if successful. This would cost approx. FJD 50,000.00 per year and most certainly require some co-funding by other quarters.

• Any surplus could then be set aside and used for our long-term goal of establishing a more permanent Shark research presence in Fiji, this possibly including a proper field station but also research internships etc. But that's another story altogether.

And the funding?

Very much in line with the new trend towards mobilizing the private sector to assist in Ocean Finance (read this!), we resolved to create My Fiji Shark as the vehicle for collecting those funds.
Tashi Blue and our marine scientists will run and manage the adoption program, whereas the UNDP will be acting as facilitators. With such a partner, you can obviously rest assured that this is certainly not aimed at enriching BAD or its staff and directors!

As to why you should adopt.

Needless to say that on top of having very specific and measurable aims, this program is unique insofar as you are not adopting some theoretical animal but real individuals with totally distinct personalities who we intimately know and love and you, too, may have already personally met!
And let's face it, having your very own Bull Shark is badass, too! :)

Anyway, the universe of potential adopters is limitless.
In fact, so far, adopters range from parents wanting to give a very special gift to their children to birthday presents to people interested in marine conservation to our clients and volunteers all the way to people who simply find it a cool thing to do - and we're also talking to our first corporate contact, so fingers crossed!

So there you have it - sure hope you like it.

And if so, Adopt Your Shark Now!

Thank you very much!
FB here, Instagram here!

My Fiji Shark!

Behold!

Beautiful huh!

So yes this would be our newest marine conservation initiative that is aimed at funding both Shark conservation and research but also coastal subsistence fisheries management in Fiji. After all, our Sharks will not survive if we continue to obliterate their prey, and fry and pollute their habitat - right?

For now, please go and check out the website.

It should be pretty much self explanatory, but I will give you plenty of additional background information tomorrow.

So, enjoy.

And, please, Adopt Your Shark Now!

And You Can Get Cool Stuff, Too!

Click for detail!
 

Nearly There!

Coming Soon!

Click for detail! 
 

Florida Land-Based Shark Fishing - Good Enough?

Yes this has happened, again - source.

Watch - story here.

Methinks this is not quite good enough.

But then again, conservation does not happen in a vacuum and will always be some compromise - so let's see how this plays out in detail. 

What I'd personally like to see, is precise rules with no more loopholes stipulating that all protected species must be released at once = zero leeway for dragging them anywhere near beaches and zero leeway for delaying the release because of taking measurements let alone pics etc - and draconian enforcement and prosecution of the transgressors!

And then there's more. 

Like I said, there are further extremely important public safety aspects that need addressing - but it's not my place to start that discussion, so keep watching this place.

Anyway, we will see will we not.

I continue to fear that the staff of the FWC will try to do the very minimum possible - but always happy to be proven wrong!

To be continued no doubt!

SHARKNADO SHARKDIVING in Japan!

Source - click for detail!

Just saw this today.

Very cool.
Those are Banded Houndsharks - story here.
Enjoy!

NZ Cage Diving - the End?

Source - very much worth reading!

Well well well.

Read this.

So the infamous saga of those haphazard cage dives off Stewart Island appears to have come to its very much expected and I may say, very much deserved! ignominious end.

Like I said way back here, there was a need for a social license (yes Austin and Charlie!), and for outreach by the researchers - and both have been appallingly lacking. And yes, a big Thank You to the Shark pornographers - and a big honorable mention to the Ramsey chick whose inconsiderate pronouncements did further inflame the situation and torpedo the research by NIWA!

So, well done folks!

Hoping that yer fucking proud of yerselves - and considering the actors, equally hoping that this is the end of that travesty!

PS - not so fast, sez Peter Scott the enabler of all that demented Shark porn on Discovery.
Oh well then - to be continued...

PPS - ultracrepidarian garbage here - Dunning-Kruger anybody?

From the Battlefield!

For you who have been wondering.

So, I'm back - and yes it has been hard.

Anyway, it was most likely worth it, I'm on the mend and if everything goes well -which it will- I'll be diving again by December - and since in the meantime I'll be certainly bored to death, expect a flurry of new cockamamie Shark conservation projects!

Oh and thanks for all the wishes.

Much appreciated!

To be continued - and that's a promise!

 

Pesky GWS - Video!

Great stuff!

Methinks this was both intentional and agonistic (as opposed to predatory) - but that's obviously merely my opinion and we'll never know for sure.

Anyway, enjoy - story here.

Emerging Challenges - Really?

Mentioned in the paper: Guadalupe cage breach.

Hmmmm.

Take a look at this.

Austin and Charlie are certainly good guys and good researchers, and quite knowledgeable about the Shark diving industry, too; and with that in mind, I can most certainly refrain from delving in the nether regions of stuff like the infamous Kardashian Index (and here - anybody come to mind? Hint: "cites me") let alone level accusations of sesselfurzing or ultracrepidarianism, the more as the paper, albeit being a bit lean, is certainly nothing terrible.
And yet I am once again irritated.

First things first: those issues they mention are valid.

In fact we've continued talking about them (= that would be 120+ posts: enjoy!) ever since that blog post 10 years ago, and at last count we've also enabled 16 peer-reviewed research papers, many of which are investigating the effect we're having on the Sharks but also their environment. And finally, we're also a founding member of an association of operators who  practice and promote safe and sane, sustainable Shark diving and are clearly the best in the industry.
 

So yes, granted, there are challenges.
But we as an industry are on top of them and are continuously evolving and improving - and the only thing that is emerging here, is that terminally irritating fad whereby there appears to be grant money for all those people = mostly scientific lightweights, to come sticking their noses into our business unbidden!

So at the risk of repeating myself.

A. We are not the problem.

Commercial and recreational overfishing, climate change, ocean acidification, pollution and habitat destruction are.
Instead, we are certainly a part of the solution - even the worst ones among us! But yes we always need to learn, evolve and improve - and this ideally via self regulation. And if not, then regulation is certainly both opportune and necessary!

B. When it comes to the whole fucking never-ending controversy about provisioning.

People who feed and condition Sharks are called fishermen - not a few dive operators: so please do focus on them and not us! And anyway, this is one of the safest underwater activities by far = with one single fatality during thousands upon thousands of baited dives, it is orders of magnitude safer than ordinary SCUBA!

Yes there are effects on the animals, the principal one being conditioning - but they are largely short-term, localized and sublethal, and in no way comparable to the threats Sharks face otherwise! But yes there too we need to minimize our impact - and guess what, most of us largely do!

C. And finally, to those researchers and NGOs.

We did not ask for this - and all this incessant nagging and lecturing by people who ultimately have no clue about, and zero investment into our industry is frankly becoming terminally irksome. There is now a whole cabal of  researchers whose academic niche (and thus career and thus income) is predicated upon being considered ecotourism experts, or whatever, and who appear to be operating with questionable agendas and also appear to desperately want to meddle instead of waiting to be asked.

So, thank you gents - I know you mean well.

But now, if I may: could you please refocus your attention and notoriously scarce time on more pressing issues than whether Shark provisioning may also, gasp, condition and feed some Fishes!, and revert to doing research that actually helps us save some Sharks?

Thank you.

Hammerhead vs Eagle Ray!

Source.

Probably a GHH, probably Guam.
Source - enjoy!



H/T: MarineCSI!
 

Florida Land-Based Shark Fishing - Workshops and Comments!

This has happened yesterday.
Once again, this total waste has likely been perpetrated by a land-based fisherman.

Should you want to be part of the solution, 

a) either please attend and speak up at the following workshops - background info and talking points here. This time, the land-based fishermen are mobilizing, so your presence, support and voice will be absolutely crucial!

Click for detail.

b) or submit written comments here -  more talking points by the ASC below. 

Click for detail.

Or both.

Thank you very much.

Fear Me not!

Very nice - watch.

And here's a little piece by Beacons Films principal, Shawn.

I say, Vinaka Vakalevu - much appreciated, and glad that you've enjoyed the experience!

PS - Shawn on the PADI blog right here!
Enjoy!

Florida Land-Based Shark Fishing - Action Alert!

Yet another majestic GHH killed by a land-based Shark fisherman - source.

Read this and especially the links.

Yes it is crunch time.

As a reminder, this is about those poor Sharks that will die even if they are released, but it is also about public safety = very much case in point.

Please visit those meetings and please, do speak up.

And if you cannot attend or live elsewhere, please do submit your comments here. 

Thank you.

PS - Kj Smith here - and yes there are further, extremely alarming public safety aspects that need to be exposed. Keep watching this space!

BAD Bull Sharks!

Very nice!

Thank you Olivia.

It is always a great pleasure hosting the Rolex Scholars and their lovely and indefatigable mer-mom Jayne, and this has certainly been no exception.

You can read Olivia's blog post right here.

Enjoy!

GWS vs Seal!

Not a good day to be a Seal!
Story here.

This is one of the wildest things I’ve ever filmed!!! White shark eats a seal 500 feet off the coast of Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts. Watch to the end to see the blood and the seal cut clean in half. #nationalsharkawarenessday #natgeowild — PRESS INQUIRIES/LICENSING please email chris@cpalermo.com.

A post shared by Chris Palermo (@chris.palermo) on Jul 13, 2018 at 6:21am PDT

Rats and Coral Reefs - Paper!

Click for detail!

Very nice!

Remember the Mantas vs Coconut trees paper?

There, introduced Coconut trees were shown to reduce seabird abundance by being unsuitable as roosting and  nesting trees; here, this new paper examines the effects of invasive rats killing off seabird colonies in Chagos and shows that as a consequence, the biomass of Coral Reef communities adjacent to rat-infested islands is substantially smaller than next to rat-free islands.

Stories here and here.

Required reading - enjoy!

PS - Good job, poop!

 

Florida Land-Based Shark Fishing - Management Recommendations!

Behold!

I must really say that I'm pleasantly surprised.

Contrary to my expectations, the staff of the FWC have put together quite a good list of recommendations - but then again, I am not there so should you need guidance, please feel free to address yourselves the good folks at the ASC.

Also, please do read David's paper.

Again, please do attend the meetings and speak up.

The dates and venues are here.

Thank you.

Jess - testing Shark Sanctuaries!

Good one!

Read this.

So Jess is back in the Cooks in order to test what she helped achieve, and I really do applaud her for it.

Really looking forward to her findings.

Contrary to some scathing commentaries by their detractors, the jury is still very much out on whether those Shark Sanctuaries work, or not. Until proven wrong, I continue to believe that they largely do (read the links, too!) and that they are the best available stop-gap, quick-fix solution pending the establishment of proper fisheries management.

But we shall see shall we not.

To be continued no doubt!

Florida Land-Based Shark Fishing Workshops - the Venues!

Click for detail!

So here you go.

Like I said, please attend and make a difference.
Thank you!
 

Broadreach - Trip Reports!

Source.

Wow.

Time sure flies!

Broadreach are once again in town with their incomparable sharky High Scool and College summer programs - and having checked, it very much looks like this may well be year 11 in a row!

Just amazing - and still as rewarding!

And like always, there are trip reports!

College here - and here are the High School reports inclusive of the awesome news that after a three-year hiatus, our incomparable friend Lindsay is gracing our shores for the fifth time, undoubtedly in order to check on her beautiful and sweet yet always feisty and badass namesake!

Enjoy the great reports!

 

Five-Meter GWS?

Mako vs GWS - awesome pic by Ozzie Sam. Notice how wide the caudal keel is!   
Source - click for detail

Watch.

Hmmmmm.

For what it is worth, methinks that that Shark does not move with the gravitas of a 5-meter animal but rather, like a much smaller individual; and the very pointy snout and very wide caudal keel appear more indicative of a Shortfin Mako, at least to me.

But who am I to say.

Both species inhabit the Med, with the Mako being far more common, albeit locally threatened like all Sharks there. And do re-read this post about the rather fascinating theory about the Australian origins of the Mediterranean GWS population - paper here!
But my call remains that this is a sprightly Mako of 2-2.5m.

Original FB post here, story here.

PS - Bingo: Michael Domeier here!
PPS - compare to this clip of a Mako @ approx 0:20ff!



PPPS -  and now we got ourselves some experts...

700 Requins dans la Nuit - awesome!

Source - click for detail! 

Behold!

Yeah that would once again be Laurent in Tetamanu.

All I can say is, epic - and there is also this ridiculously awesome photo essay and also, this book with his best pictures that I can only highly recommend.

Enjoy!

Bull Shark vs hooked Shark!

Yes Bull Sharks got big sharp teeth - great pic by Sasha! Click for detail!

Behold!

Story here.

Not at all sure about the first Shark - but the big one is unmistakably a Bull = a species that will most definitely prey on other Sharks.

Enjoy!
 

Sharks in the Ba Estuary - Paper!

Love love love this pic - source!

Behold!

Nice job by Tom et al.

From what I gather, whereas the field research has been challenging, the paper has been a rather traumatic experience - and no, no need to elaborate, the more as the good news is that this finally completes Tom's master thesis and that consequently, he can now fully concentrate on his already impressive career as a conservation photographer and filmmaker. 

So big congrats Tom - in every sense!

And the Ba estuary?

Our own ongoing research suggests that it may well be more than a mere aggregation and parturition site, and confirms that it is certainly a place of great interest warranting protection - but  these things are complicated and take a lot of time, and bycatch mitigation and enforcement will always be a huge challenge, meaning that at present, I'm alas not terribly hopeful for the short term.  

But hope springs eternal, and we're certainly going to stay on it.

In the meantime, enjoy Tom's paper.

To be continued no doubt!

Sharkbanz - yes it's a total Scam!

Source.

Bingo.

Remember this post?

What followed were a Shark bite and then a devastating impromptu test - and yet the Garrisons and even more problematically, Craig O'Connell of questionable Shark Week fame have continued to defend the indefensible and conned the public (scroll down) into believing that the gizmos had been tested scientifically and proven to be effective, which they clearly never had.

But now those independent tests have been performed.
Bravo to Charlie, and big kudos to Andrew who continues to make GSD proud.

This is a great illustration of the test setup.

And this is the reaction of GWS' to the Shark Shield ( Ocean Guardian ) Freedom+ Surf which is actually the only repellent that worked, albeit only a measly 60% of the time which IMO just ain't quite good enough - or is it?

And the Banz?
And I cite,

Neither the SharkBanz bracelet nor leash affected the behaviour of white sharks or reduced the percentage of baits taken.

These products rely on permanent magnets (Grade C8 barium ferrite), which have previously been used to overwhelm the electromagnetic sense of sharks .....

However, the distance from which sharks reacted to magnets in those studies was small, typically less than 0.5 m  and the effectiveness of the magnets decreased with increasing shark motivation.

Barium-ferrite permanent magnets generate a flux that decreases at the inverse cube in relation to the distance from the magnet, from near 1000 G at the source to an amount comparable to the Earth’s magnetic field (0.25 – 0.65 G) at distances of 0.30 – 0.50 m, showing how rapidly the magnetic field decreases. Sharks would therefore need to be at less than 0.30 m for such magnets to act as real deterrents.

This suggests that magnets are unlikely to be effective at deterring sharks because they will only protect close to the magnet, limiting their applicability as personal deterrents...

Exactly what I said back then!

Incidentally, same same for the ludicrous Chillax wax!

Those of you who remember the episode of Mythbusters where Lemon Sharks were completely unfazed after ingesting balloons filled with mashed habaneros may remember that lacking that necessity, Sharks have simply not developed receptors for capsicain - so a concoction of eucalyptus, chilli, cloves, cayenne pepper, neem, tea tree oil, citronella, coconut, and beeswax was always gonna be a stretch. And it sure was.

Disappointed reaction here - and no, it just doesn't bloody work and sure ain't commonsense, either!

You can read the paper here, and here is a great synopsis by Corey.

Once again (re-read it!), this is not principally about the perpetrators that can (and should!) be taken to court. It's about the public as those things may actually lead to MORE Shark strikes because as Corey states

if a particular type of commercially available shark deterrent happens to be less effective (or completely ineffective) as advertised, it can give users a false sense of security, potentially encouraging some to put themselves at greater risk than is necessary. For example, some surfers and spearfishers probably ignore other mitigation measures, such as beach closures, because they ‘feel safe’ when wearing these products.

Exactly - so be careful people!

If it looks too good to be true, it usually is - so forget those gizmos and best use your common sense, and you should just be fine.

In diesem Sinne.
Enjoy the ocean - safely and responsibly!