No Yellow Fins??

[Lorenzoid]

Search the forum, and you'll find the same question and conversation over and over.

Yeah yeah. This is the New Divers forum, and it may not occur to new divers that this is a common question.

[Edit: I THOUGHT this was the New Divers forum for some reason, but in fact we're in the Florida forum. Okay.]

That said, here is a sampling of threads on "yum-yum yellow" that may be of interest. Whether myth or science, the question lives on.

Yum Yum Yellow Fins?

When I started my cert classes I was required to get some fins. I spoke to the person there and they recommended these Scuba Pro Twin Jet Fins. I asked about the colors and one of them mentioned that the bright yellow was liked because of the visibility. If it comes off it will be easier to see...

scubaboard.com

Yellow Fins Attract Sharks?

Hi I just purchased a pair of Yellow Scubapro Twin Jet fins from a Scubaboard mate. Just now, someone told me, "Sharks say 'Yum Yum Yellow ...'" Is this true that yellow fins attract sharks? Jay

scubaboard.com

Shark diving in yellow or red drysuit?

I am having a debate with my dive buddy and would like to hear other peoples opinions on this: I wanted to get a Yellow or a Red drysuit as they are easier to spot. My friend was saying that though the probability of a shark attack is very little, these colors tend to increase it. She says...

scubaboard.com

What is the best color?

This may turn out to be one of the dumber questions I have asked, right up there with "Can an aluminum tank contribute to Alzheimer's?". QUESTION: In your opinion, is one color better than another for a sit-on top kayak to be used for scuba diving in the Atlantic and for general recreational...

scubaboard.com

 

[Still Kicking]

Maybe I'll get lucky one day and see a Great White . I only have about 1300 dives in SE FL.

I hope to see a white shark in the wild one day. I hope it's not the last thing I see....

 

[Green Frog]

Mr Chen, I did a perfunctory search before posting and a more thorough one at your suggestion. The most recent thing that applies to my specific question was the two year old video that left the question about “yum yum yellow” pretty much hanging, and still didn’t address my question about DMs on boats requiring black or blue fins. Notice the references in Lorenzoid’s post are mostly a decade or so old.

I did read with interest about the instructor who specifically chose yellow fins so his students would be able to find him, and parenthetically I should mention that one of my DMs in Nassau chose white fins pretty much for the same reason. Here’s a picture of her clowning for the camera as she keeps watch over her charges.

I feel like my question has some legitimacy… and I still don’t have a definitive answer. I do know I like swimming in these fins much better than the stiff, open heel “boards” they replaced!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Do Sharks See Color? — Shark Research Institute

Elasmobranchs have highly developed sensory systems that help them find food - a sense of smell that can detect prey at long distances, and the ability to read the minute electrical fields emitted by fish. But what about their vision? Do sharks see in color? Two recent studies us

www.sharks.org

 

[tursiops]

I feel like my question has some legitimacy… and I still don’t have a definitive answer.

You are not going to get a definitive answer. You are going to get opinions, conjectures, and unsubstantiated assertions. Sorry.

 

[AdivingBel]

FL forum right? Shark interest probably has more to do with what’s on the end of your spear than the color of your fins…

 

[lowwall]

I recently bought a pair of Mares full foot fins in bright yellow with black trim, planning to use them primarily for boat dives. Exploring the website of a FL dive operation I read their warning against wearing yellow fins on dives where sharks would be encountered. They even said they would rent blue or black fins to eliminate the “danger”. Am I the only one who has never thought (or even heard) of this phenomenon? On some of my recent dives in Nassau, we were surrounded by Reef Sharks but I didn’t get attacked, nor did they even show any undue interest in my bright yellow fins.
Was I just lucky? Were the sharks color blind in the Bahamas? Is the FL dive operation just trying to rent more fins to yankee tourists? What gives here?

Uh oh.

Here's my fin lineup. I don't stand a chance.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Uh oh.

Here's my fin lineup. I don't stand a chance.

I had the bottom fins (Mares) on a bullshark dive off PDC. No big deal.

 

[danpass]

Something about the small, bright contrast (compared to the background) that sharks pick up on.

On a snorkel trip that involved sharks they told us to keep our hands on the trailing rope, the idea being that would keep our ‘bright’ palms closed.

 

[lowwall]

On a snorkel trip that involved sharks they told us to keep our hands on the trailing rope, the idea being that would keep our ‘bright’ palms closed.

It's a lot more likely that the op wanted to keep everyone on the line because it's less work for them.