March 17, 2017, Fremantle, Western Australia

Training for first aid response to shark incidence. vital that the injured person is given help quickly.

Sea Shepherd has been a strong advocate for many years for non lethal shark mitigation strategies, because the reality is that nets, drum-lines and shark cull's are proven to be merely a false sense of security that make matters worse from a public safety perspective and decreasing biodiversity in our oceans that we all  rely on.

On average, around five to ten shark fatalities occur around the globe per annum, and given the millions of people globally that enter the marine environment, its clear that we are not on the menu, just sometimes in the way. 

However, Sea Shepherd understands that as rare as they are, shark attacks do happen, and one of the main reasons that we lose people is through loss of blood, which can be an avoidable tragedy. Often through better signage or improved notification systems, we can minimise the risk of shark encounters, and through appropriate trauma response, we can minimise fatalities in the rare case of a shark incident.

After pushing for the introduction of medical kits at beaches that are known for shark activity, Sea Shepherd liaised with representatives from Shark Spotters in Cape Town, South Africa as well as Perth-based military paramedic, Jerry Barrett to create the Acute Shark Attack Pack (ASAP).

The pack, which is designed to be either taken to the beach or kept at the beach itself or local surf club, includes medical shears to cut through neoprene if necessary, trauma bandages, emergency blankets to keep a patient warm, tourniquets to stop the flow of blood loss, and a pictorial instructional sheet.

Sea Shepherd Medical Advisor Jerry Barrett, wanted to go one step further and create a video showcasing a real to life shark incident and how to respond using a trauma response kit like the ASAP as well as using first aid techniques supported by the Australian Resuscitation Council. Jerry reached out to ocean conservationist, Sea Shepherd ambassador, former navy diver and shark attack survivor Paul De Gelder, whom was very happy to front the first aid shark response video.

Volunteer shows how to apply tourniquet to injured surfer

The team involved with making first aid shark response video

“Without the calm reactions of my team mates and the application of a tourniquet above the wound, I may not have survived. If we interact with marine life in their natural surroundings, we need to be prepared for a worse case scenario. The Acute Shark Attack Pack is designed specifically to meet the needs of a shark interaction. We all love the great outdoors, we should all interact and respect the world around us,.” said Paul De Gelder.

“Tragically, there has been many shark incidents where we have lost people due to loss of blood and if this video in combination with an ASAP type kit can save one life, then the effort in making this small production is by far worth it..” stated Jerry Barrett, Sea Shepherd Medical Advisor.

“We can not keep everyone safe off Australia’s  vast, rich bio-diverse coastline, however we can be better prepared in the event of a rare shark incident,.” stated Jerry Barrett, Sea Shepherd Medical Advisor.

Those wishes to purchase a ASAP style pack can go here.

Or alternatively for making your own, here is the suggested breakdown:

• Gloves (perhaps links to example products?)
• Tourniquet x 2
• compression bandage x 2
• 20 x 20 trauma pad x 1
• mini ENT EMT shears x 1
• Hypothermia blanket x 1
• ASAP pictorial instruction sheet

Visit our  Operation Apex Harmony site for more information