Analytic Indication of the Impracticability of Waterborne Chemicals for Repelling an Attacking Shark. A Second, Confirming Look

摘要

Considerable research effort has been devoted to developing an effective replacement for the discontinued Shark Repellent Compound (Shark Chaser) of World War II. Earlier systems analyses indicated that actual incapacitation of an attacking shark would require inordinate quantities of recognized poisons. Recent studies on potent marine toxins, such as secretions from the Moses sole (Pardachirus marmoratus) and related surfactant chemicals, have indicated need for reanalysis of the potential of waterbone chemicals for repelling sharks. Parametric studies by others of three-dimensional diffusion in the ocean permit us to estimate the repellent release rate required to maintain a minimum effective concentration of chemical at the outer boundary of a specified volume of water surrounding a potential attack victim. Realistic restrictions on the release rate dictate the potency necessary for any candidate repellent chemical to be seriously considered as a possible replacement for Shark Chaser. Such analytic reasonings clearly indicate potencies reported for Moses sole secretion and related detergents to be two to three orders of magnitude too low.