Company HistoryUpdated 2 years ago

The original wave-form used in the shark repelling technology was devised by three inventors, Graeme Charter, Sherman Ripley, and Norman Starkey, and released in 1995 by POD Holdings Ltd, a joint venture company partly owned by the Natal Sharks Board and the South African government.

In the late 1990s the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board developed the first electrical shark deterrent, the SharkPOD (protective oceanic device or simply POD). In 2001, the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board ceased distribution of the SharkPOD. All rights to the intellectual property were licensed to a South Australian-based company, SeaChange Technology Holdings, which developed various new application patents resulting in a commercial product line under the brand name Shark Shield in April 2002.

In 2007, Shark Shield introduced the third generation of products to replace the original FREEDOM4 and DIVE01, expanding the range of products offered to include the SCUBA7 (replaced the DIVE01) and introducing two new designs: the FREEDOM7 (replaced the FREEDOM4), a versatile option that can be used by a broad range of ocean-users, including scuba divers, spearfishers, boaters, and kayakers; and the SURF7, designed to be fitted onto a surfboard or stand-up paddleboard to offer surfers protection from sharks.

The Shark Shield Technology was further developed by the Australian company SeaChange Technology Holdings Pty Ltd, and commercialized by its trading company Shark Shield Pty Ltd established in October 2006. SeaChange Technology Holdings Pty Ltd changed its name to Ocean Guardian Holdings Limited in 2018 with Shark Shield Pty Ltd trading as Ocean Guardian.

In 2016, with research and development funding from the Western Australian government, Ocean Guardian announced the FREEDOM+ Surf a product designed in partnership with two times World Champion surfer Tom Carroll specifically designed for surfers. The new design removed the trailing antenna of the older SURF7 being replaced with a sticker-thin antenna on the underside of the surfboard, with the fully transferable power module located in the kicker of the tail pad.

In January 2019 the company announced the world's first handheld electrical shark deterrent based on Shark Shield Technology called the eSPEAR. The eSPEAR is designed primarily for spearfishermen, divers and snorkelers.[16] The Ocean Guardian product line was further expanded to include the BOAT01 to create a safe swimming area around vessels, and the FISH01 to assist ocean fishermen land their catch without being taken by sharks.

On May 26, 2017 the Western Australian government implemented a $200 consumer rebate for scientifically proven electrical shark deterrents. At the launch of the program, the Ocean Guardian FREEDOM7 and FREEDOM+ Surf were the only products approved.

In August 2022 the Company installed the world's first commercial installation of its LR1000 Shark Barrier at a private resort in the Bahama's, a 365-meter system. 

In addition to traditional ocean sports, Ocean Guardian products are in use with various government bodies including police and navies, and were used by production members in the filming of both The Shallows and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage. Long-distance swimmer, Diana Nyad, in her record-breaking swim crossing from Cuba to Florida without a cage, was completed with help from Shark Shield.