Is this the silver bullet in the shark attack debate?

Two Aussie companies have paired up to create a personal shark repellent device which sits in a surfboard's tail pad and is claimed not to impact performance.

This might upset some people on New South Wales' north coast but I've stopped surfing there altogether for fear of getting attacked by a shark. 

And even though there hasn't been an attack in the area for a while now, whenever I visit I just feel safer waiting until I'm back across the Queensland border before entering the ocean. 

Now two Australian companies have come out with what may well be the solution to the problem I and many other surfers are facing. 

It's called the Shark Shield Freedom Plus and it's basically a shark repellent device that sits in the tail pad of a surfboard and works through electronic transmitters on the bottom of the board that are no thicker than a sticker. 

The manufacturers are saying it won't affect surfing performance - which doesn't really matter for me because it would be very difficult for something to make me surf worse - but I'm sure it will help sell more of these. 

The only drawback is the cost - $599. 

However in the context of the taxpayer being forced to fork out for some pretty expensive shark mitigation solutions, in NSW at present, one has to ask - is it fair to shift this burden back onto the actual user?

Originally published as Is this the silver bullet in the shark attack debate?