Sharkbanz 2 Questions & Answers

Hi Errol, The use of magnetic deterrents has a world patent on it by a Dr Rice from his company "Shark Defense" in Canada he has actually patented world wide the use of magnets to deter sharks ( elasmobranchii to be specific ) which includes rays and any marine fish that uses Ampullae of Lorenzini (sing. ampulla) are special sensing organs called electroreceptors, forming a network of jelly-filled pores. They are mostly discussed as being found in cartilaginous fish (sharks, rays, and chimaeras); however, they are also reported to be found in Chondrostei such as reedfish and sturgeon. the magnetic material is made from a very brittle rare earth neodymium iron boron material ;

"NdFe14B" compound Neodymium (Nd) 29% - 32% Iron (Fe) 64.2% 68.5% Boron (B) 1.0% - 1.2% Aluminium (Al) 0.2% - 0.4% Niobium (Nb) 0.5% -1% Dysprosium (Dy) 0.8% -1.2%

It cant really be increased in size substantially and tests I have done have about a 2m magnetic field radius ( MAX) using a sharkbanz2 ( in Salt Water ) it basically works well on curious sharks but wont work on ambush predators like great whites with any real effect, A great white when attacking will punch through the magnetic field but when a tiger or bull shark approaches it generally sniffs its prey first and gets irritated by the magnetic field and turns away sharply. There is a new magnetic material in development but again this Dr Rice has patented the use of magnets on elasmobrancii not the material itself . Have a look here external link  a South African company is making artificial magnetic kelp fields to keep sharks away I think one of the guys works for Newcastle UNI in NSW or is involved in it. Watch this , its pretty impressive and would be good for canals like around the gold coast .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrxTXeHDgDA

Hope that helps Cheers ( Let me know if you want any more info )

Excellent informative answer, thank you so much. The video is intersting too. I guess we must watch this space to see what can deter attack-sharks from chewing on scuba divers.

Watch the Shark Week episode called Laws of Jaws , you can see it until May 30 2021 on channel 9 , theres a segment on facing tiger sharks on scuba worth watching that may interest you, its basically an experiment and re enactment of an attack which claimed a life of a scuba diver and a test to see if a theory they have developed to save themselves actually works.