The BiteMetrix Story

BiteMetrix came about to share an answer to a question two mates have both asked on more than one occasion over the years of surfing or swimming in the ocean.

What was going on under the surface before we paddled out?

There wasn’t always time to ask this question with adrenaline surging when the waves were pumping and the water was clean. However, throw in a news report of a recent shark attack, a story told in the carpark or worse a sighting by one of us, then hesitation to enter the water became a reality and even a level of fear had to be overcome.

For one of us the answer for the time being remained a mystery, while for the other, after diverting from surfing back to the original coastal addiction of rock fishing, the answer came over years of knowledge gained through education, coastal observation and practical time at the edge of the ocean.

The passion for fishing was altering my career path and led me to studying for a near coastal coxswains qualification in 2014, some light was shed on how the ocean currents work to assist in the navigation of a vessel to plan a trip. Having a passion for fishing I immediately recognised the benefits this topic would provide me and began to study and understand what a dynamic force the ocean really was.

For the years following I was monitoring satellite images of Sea Surface Temperatures and Currents daily and looking for correlations with fishing reports to reach my land-based fishing goals.

As the years passed and shark-human interactions became more frequent and heavily reported in the news, the correlations between these incidents and oceanographic factors such as water temperature, upwellings and downwelling’s became more than a talking point between myself and a few of my surfing mates.

A feeling of guilt would come over me after reading about a shark-human interaction and studying the oceanographic factors that a lot of the time showed indications of increased risk in that area. While I was encouraged over the years by my surfing mate to provide this knowledge to the public, it was only with his guidance and partnership in business that this service could be built and provided to the public.

This business was built by people with a love of the ocean and a desire to understand why shark incidents were occurring at a growing rate. It is from a drive to prevent more devastating incidents in the water that we will strive to provide the best service possible.