White stick

[nickpace444]

Hi I'm new to this forum. When diving in a shark aquarium in Cape Town the instructor had a stick with alternating black and white bands. She would raise it when a raggie came close. Photos of diving with sharks also show divers with white sticks. I'm about to go to the Red Sea Brothers where oceanic white tips can be found. Anyone with experience of such sticks? Any use?

 

[Pearlman]

There are discussion threads on the forum which detail how sharks only notice contrast more than colors. White and Yellow are supposedly the danger ones that might sharks might notice from the depths more easily…

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I'm guessing those little beasties had some level of training or conditioning to that stick. I would NOT try that in the wild. I think you might find yourself serverely disappointed with their reaction.

 

[Hoyden]

We use shark sticks at work (public aquarium that displays sand tigers, sandbars, nurses, and other smallewr species) and they really are to provide a visual barrier. There is no learning curve for the sharks to respond to the sticks. The sticks can also (rarely) be used to make contact with an animal that is too close for comfort to redirect them. For anything more than that we use large blocking barriers/shields that are not appropriate for open water.

 

[nickpace444]

We use shark sticks at work (public aquarium that displays sand tigers, sandbars, nurses, and other smallewr species) and they really are to provide a visual barrier. There is no learning curve for the sharks to respond to the sticks. The sticks can also (rarely) be used to make contact with an animal that is too close for comfort to redirect them. For anything more than that we use large blocking barriers/shields that are not appropriate for open water.

Thanks. Very helpful. What colour are they?

 

[Hoyden]

Thanks. Very helpful. What colour are they?

They are white with a black stripe (electrical tape) spiraling down it. We have two lengths (some divers prefer a shorter shark stick for ease of carrying it). We have also added a cross guard on the sticks that we use with our sawfish after a sawfish rostrum slid down a shark stick and made contact with the diver's hand.