Peeing in my wetsuit attracts shark ?

[shark_tamer]

The other day my friend told me as a joke :

" I wouldn't dive with you 'cause you pee in your wetsuit, and urine attracs sharks "

For the last week, I have been searching the web for scientific facts that will either comfirm or deny this.

Please reply with reliable web site links.

[Jupiter31]

Your friend needs to get certified as a "Solo Diver"

We all know that there are only 2 kinds of divers....those that piss their wetsuit and those that lie about it.

I'm not inclined to troll the internet for backup on this but I call BS - if it were true, 99% of the divers would have sharks following them - and let your friend know - just b/c there are xharks, it does not mean you are in grave danger of attack.

[Peter_C]

Only Great Whites from what I understand. They use the smell of mammal urine to lead them to their prey.

So what? Just tame them and make them a pet and call him George...

If you really do want to know more Google is your friend.

Shark attack facts

Oh and don't forget vomit for those diving off boats with sea sick people onboard

[walke121]

I'm going with BS on that. If you really want to attract sharks just get a speargun and pop a few fish. The sharks will be there shortly.

[WVDiver]

Well sorry I don't have any links to back it up but I was recently told by a well respected Divemaster that urine is a sign of distress to sharks in deep, open ocean waters. We were doing an open ocean night dive over about 8,000' of water off the coast of Hawaii. We did see sharks but I SWEAR it wasn't me that peed in the water. You can read the trip report here. Whether it had anything to do with someone in the dive party peeing or not is up for discussion.

I had never heard this claim before this and didn't take much stock in the claim at the time. But after confronting an Oceanic Whitetip I can't help but wonder.

At any rate having dived many different and varied geographic locations and conditions I can not say that this statement is consistent with my own observations. I would venture to guess that for most of the diving community at large, diving in relatively shallow waters, relatively close to shore, it should not be a matter of great concern.

Trip Report: Big Island Divers and The Black Water Night Dive

[walke121]

I would find it hard to find a correlation to shark sightings due strictly to urine. There are so many other factors that could be the actual cause of the attraction. I am not going to get into the physiological differences between fish and mammal nitrogenous waste removal but I will say that they are quite different in how they work and what the end products are. Even if mammal urine did attract sharks it would have to be on the basis that the shark is just curious. They wouldn't be linking human urine with food. Bottom line I think there are too many variables to attribute shark sightings to something as simple as peeing in your wetsuit.

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Well after spending a week with Tigers, Lemons, and Hammerheads, I saw no difference in behavior before or after peeing. I spent at least 100 mins or more underwater each dive so it was hard not to pee! Hey at least I can admit it!

When I dive with White Sharks next year, I will let ya know how it goes!

Carolyn

[debersole]

Sounds like a lot of BS to me. Like Carolyn, I've been diving with all types of sharks from reef to lemon to hammerhead to tigers to great whites and haven't noticed any change in their behavior from my relieving myself in my wetsuit.

Now, to turn the statement around, I've heard that seeing sharks seemingly attracted to them has caused a few divers to pee on themselves!

[fisheater]

Now, to turn the statement around, I've heard that seeing sharks seemingly attracted to them has caused a few divers to pee on themselves!

And worse!!!

[Noboundaries]

The only guy I'd worry about who pees in his wetsuit is the dude who takes fish oil supplements. Just might make the shark wonder if there's a new neoprene coated menu item in the water.

Just kidding, of course.

Maybe.