ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes how spearfishermen often turn away approaching reef sharks, e.g., bull sharks, by loud shouts and aggressive arm waving. It aims to develop quantitative bioassay methods for evaluating potential repellent substances in the laboratory. The book also describes both laboratory and field testing of the repellent effects of the Red Sea Moses sole. It suggests that procedures for the laboratory assay of chemical effects, using standard species such as juvenile lemon sharks for which much baseline physiological and behavioral information is available. The book shows that a common industrial surfactant was apparently more effective in repelling lemon sharks than an extract of the Moses sole secretion. Surfactants, which are detergents capable of emulsifying oils, have long been known to be toxic to fishes, especially the lipophilic types, which attach to and destroy the phospholipid component of the gill membrane.
