1) Personnel Training 



Because shark attacks are rare, very little aircrew and UDT/SEAL 

 training is devoted to shark hazard. UDT/SEAL training for example, 

 includes only a two-hour lecture on dangerous marine life. Ordinarily, 

 this minimal information regarding sharks is not a matter of concern. 

 However, when an individual is in a survival situation, or sharks are 

 encountered in swimmer /diver operations, a knowledge of shark behavior and 

 proper response to shark activity may become crucial. The extent of 

 coverage of training information should range from simple and accurate 

 basics for aircrewmen to more detailed information for UDT and SEAL 

 personnel whose normal sphere of operations is underwater. Examples of the 

 kind of information that swimmer/diver personnel could use are: distin- 

 guishing features of dangerous species of sharks, recognition of distinctive 

 threat postures which may precede attack, and knowledge of characteristic 

 activity patterns, such as the movement of blue sharks from open sea to 

 shallow coastal waters at dusk, with return to deeper waters at dawn. 



This behavioral information, only recently acquired by ONR contractors, 

 illustrates the desirability of frequently updating training manuals and 

 films. Training materials currently in use contain a great deal of out- 

 of-date and inaccurate information. The U.S. Navy Diving Manual, for 

 example, emphasizes the danger of killer whales, even though there has 

 never been a documented record of an attack on a human. The Air Force 

 film entitled Shark Defense (TF-5589-B) also contains inaccurate information 

 ("it is difficult for sharks to make sharp turns"), and advocates a number 

 of courses of action which are either ineffective (for example, tearing up 

 bits of paper and scattering them on the water) or inadvisable (rubbing 

 bare fingers on the rubber life raft, to make a sound which, in actuality, 

 might attract sharks). While this film is 10 years old, it is still being 

 shown. 



Proper training not only saves lives but also facilitates the success- 

 ful and expeditious accomplishment of tasks and missions. 



2) Chemical Deterrents 



Although a number of devices for deterring sharks have been proposed, 

 (Gilbert and Gilbert, 1973), the standard deterrent issued to military 

 personnel since World War II is a cake of water soluble wax containing 80% 

 nigrosine dye and 20% copper acetate, called "Shark Chaser." In early 

 tests it was reportedly effective in repelling several species of sharks. 

 However, a mounting body of evidence has now conclusively demonstrated 

 that Shark Chaser has no significant deterrent value against most dangerous 

 sharks. Even such psychological benefits as it may have provided have 

 diminished with the growing awareness that it does not afford effective 

 protection. But the inefficacy of Shark Chaser has not been clearly demon- 

 strated in operational use (a shark exposed to Shark Chaser may have had no 

 intention of attacking in the first place), and no practical, effective 

 substitute has become available. Moreover, it is only recently that the 

 growing body of evidence from observations and controlled experiments (Kato, 

 1962) has conclusively established the lack of value of this chemical 

 deterrent. 



For the above reasons Shark Chaser is still issued to military per- 

 sonnel. In the period from November 1969 through February 1974, the 



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