Shark Attack Prevention – How To Stay Safe in the Ocean

Scientists who study marine biology have spent decades studying shark behaviour to identify their avoidance triggers. The following elements show potential to reduce shark attack encounters, although no single method provides complete protection:

• Research shows that specific magnetic and electrical devices interfere with sharks’ electroreceptors, reducing sharks’ interest in approaching.
• Swimmers who move their bodies excessively become more attractive to sharks. The less you thrash your body while staying calm, the less likely sharks are to show interest in you.
• The combination of specific wetsuits and surfboards with particular colour schemes and patterns makes humans less appealing to sharks.
• The presence of multiple swimmers in the water prompts sharks to avoid the area, as they prefer to hunt solo targets.

The common belief that sharks can identify fear through their sense of smell has been proven incorrect by science. Sharks’ sensory capabilities do not include emotion detection through their sensory organs. Sharks detect chemical changes in the water through their electroreception. The exceptional olfactory abilities of sharks allow them to detect individual drops of blood across vast ocean spaces. The human emotion of fear does not produce any detectable substance which would attract sharks.

Your body movements during fear will produce distress signals that sharks might interpret as signs of injury, so remaining calm is the best defence against shark attacks.

When a shark touches your body with its body parts, you should:

• Use strategic fighting techniques to defend yourself. Your defensive strategy should concentrate on targeting the shark’s eyes, gills and snout area.
• Stay composed. Your ability to defend yourself becomes less effective when you panic because panic consumes your energy.
• Signal for help if others are nearby.
• Leave the water immediately after the shark leaves.

Shark attacks remain rare, but being prepared for such situations remains crucial.

When a shark continues to show interest in you:

1. Position yourself against a solid object, such as a reef, rock, or board, whenever possible.
2. Protect your exposed body parts when you defend yourself. The shark will likely stop its attack when you direct your attacks at its eyes, gills and snout area.
3. The defence mechanism of playing dead does not work against sharks because their attack behaviour differs from that of land predators.
4. Leave the water with a controlled and fast pace after the shark has retreated.

Your priority should be to stop the shark from attacking you instead of attempting to scare it away when you encounter one. The following steps will help you:

• Maintain eye contact: Sharks often prefer to ambush. The shark will understand you are aware of its presence when you maintain direct eye contact.
• Your vertical position in the water will make you appear larger to sharks and less like their natural prey.
• Slow, steady movements: Avoid frantic swimming.
• You should use any available object, like a camera, a snorkel, or a surfboard, to create distance from the predator when a shark approaches.

People who survived shark attack encounters attribute their survival to their quick thinking and defensive actions during the attack.
The goal of shark attack prevention requires us to show proper respect toward these ocean predators rather than fear them. The combination of understanding shark behaviour and proper encounter responses, along with safety protocols, enables ocean enjoyment while reducing your exposure to danger. If you want to safely swim with sharks or even dive with sharks, read more about it on our Durban Shark Cage Diving page.

If you ever get an unfortunate encounter with a shark, and have to fight off a shark, which is very rare, read this interesting and helpful blog from Shark Divers.