Are these “shark deterrent” bands ethical?

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marinebiology-ModTeam@reddit

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

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marinebiology-ModTeam@reddit

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marinebiology-ModTeam@reddit

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marinebiology-ModTeam@reddit

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oomahk@reddit

There is no "ethical" to really interpret here. This brand of deterrent is a magnet in fancy packaginging. It's why it does not need charging or anything else. It doesn't hurt sharks, the technology relies on thinking it throws off the electromagnetic sensors in their snouts. It's such a small amount of energy it's not going to hurt them.

Also to note however, there is little non-industry funded research that indicates these deterrent are effective. There is a study here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6120439/

That indicates most of these deterrents are bullshit. This is not new news. As long as people have been bitten by sharks we have been trying to find ways to prevent people from being bitten, most have been dubious at best. Some have even ended up being attractants. Overall most of these things are expensive safety blankets.

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oomahk@reddit

Also I know your post is getting a lot of downvotes likely from people being frustrated that the public haven't caught on to these things being junk and based in dubious at best science.

However, I am up voting and want to say OP thank you for being curious, skeptical, and asking around to see what this stuff is all about. The marketing for these products is often flashy and full of endorsements (park service, famous surfers, etc.) making it hard to tell what's real and what is bullshit. Asking questions and trying to learn is better than most people who will just never try to figure out the difference.

This question also allowed me to challenge my priors and have to do a little digging around to make sure my belief that most of these products are just hype, is in fact true. Turns out that is still the case, but it is always good to reassess :)

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Ificouldonlyremember@reddit

Experiments have demonstrated that strong magnetic fields will repel some species of sharks.
There is no reason to think that a small magnet you wear on your wrist would do anything.

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oomahk@reddit

For sure, I'm just talking about the efficacy of these small magnetic fields. If you have a powered magnetic field you can definitely get enough distortion into the water to deter some species in some instances.

The article I linked actually saw a significant decline in interactions by white sharks to the baited board with a powered magnetic field. Though it was the only thing they tested to have any noticable effect.

The last thing to note is that while there may be some evidence of strong magnetic fields bothering many species. The most important thing to determine is do any of these devices deter the "big 3" sharks. Great white, bull, and tiger sharks are responsible for ~90% of all shark attacks. If these devices don't deter these species in particular, they are also useless, even if they deter other species.

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millsnour@reddit

My uncle wore one of these on a beach vacay in the southeast US a few years ago. Context: he’s quite the jokester. He came out of the water clutching his ankle, and it was bleeding and he said he was bit by a crab. Well, he passed out not even a minute later and we thought it was a bit but turns out it was a stingray jab. So, seems like they don’t work for any aquatic creatures, apparently.

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Haoledayinn@reddit

Brilliant scam! The chance that one of their customers will get bitten by a shark and then write them a bad review is astronomical.

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BabserellaWT@reddit

I’ll sell you a magic rock. Put it in your pocket and it’ll keep the tigers away.

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CalamariMarinara@reddit

Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock.

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hippywitch@reddit

PSA: Do not take magic rock out while swimming, not to be used as a flotation device. Magic rock only works for tigers in North America (not cougars) and other areas where tigers are not native.

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Gobo-Jellies@reddit

Works especially well in the ocean on tigers and most other cats. Unfortunately, you may be more prone to sinking.

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EzPzLemon_Greezy@reddit

No thanks, my anti-lion stickers works on tigers, but do you have any bridges for sale by chance?

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KonungariketSuomi@reddit

Lisa, I want to buy your rock!

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ChingusMcDingus@reddit

Mythbusters tested this stuff and none of the common “deterrents” worked. What *did* work though was concentrated extract of dead shark which would be a bit of an ethical concern.

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SkepticOwlz@reddit

It's a scam

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Confident_Frogfish@reddit

This is it. If a shark wants to bite you it's gonna bite you, but most likely it doesn't want to bite you.

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potatobywayofcork@reddit

It’ll just spit this out.

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Sudden_Wind_8636@reddit

This seems like such a scam honestly, the likelihood of seeing a shark, and then a shark coming anywhere near you while you swim at the beach is basically zero.

Then the chance the shark actually tries to attack you? The odds are so low it's basically impossibly unlikely for you personally to get attacked by one.

What's even lower odds is that this bracelet does anything to stop sharks.

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shampoo_mohawk_@reddit

What a great scam though. Almost nobody gets bitten by a shark while wearing one! Almost nobody gets bitten by a shark while not wearing one too but let’s not focus on that part.

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Slut_for_Bacon@reddit

Useless scam and bad for the environment.

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SincerelySpicy@reddit

Here's a video on them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4mag00sB1E&pp=ygUYcmViZWNjYSB3YXRzb24gc2hhcmtiYW56

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Twizzlers_and_donuts@reddit

I wish I could find it but a shark YouTuber I like who studies sharks did a video to that talked about them. The YouTuber is Shark Bytes though if anyone wants to look

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stargatedalek2@reddit

Sounds like they do work to discourage curious, slow, exploratory bites, which could make them a great tool for divers, especially those working in aquariums! But they aren't useful for swimmers/surfers because a shark that close to be affected near the surface is already mid lunge.

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atomfullerene@reddit

I don't see how it could do any good or much harm.