Shark diving in yellow or red drysuit?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

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 that if I wanted to dive with sharks, (Galapagos, Australia and South Africa etc) then I should choose a black drysuit. She also said that some shark dive operators wont let you in the water with sharks if you wear a yellow or red suit.

Is there any truth in this? I remember seeing a myth buster episode in which they showed that sharks have no preference of color when it comes to what they would bite.

Who is right and who is wrong?

 

[Belmont]

I wonder why seals, the favorite prey of white sharks, are black.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

When it comes to shark diving, we dive with dark wetsuits and our hands must be gloved due to the reflectiveness of white hands underwater. Mythbusters did do a test and found that most curiosity by sharks were peaked when yellow/white and then red wetsuits were worn. They tended to get alot more bumps and test bites. The sillouette of the seal along with their activity make them a target. That is why it's best not to swim/surf with seals. We are the slowest "seal" and usually get the bite.

That is just my 500psi...the best thing is to understand the creatures that you dive with.

C:shark2:

 

[drbill]

I have read, and it is my personal experience, that sharks seem to be attracted to yellow. I have seem them investigate the yellow fins on divers a number of times. It may not be due to the color itself, but the increased contrast and brightness of the fin relative to the water making them look like fish.

At least at reasonable depth (here, maybe not so much in the tropics), red would appear dark. It's one of the reasons why many nocturnal fish are red in color... they are not easily seen at night when out in the open.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Here is some proof about white being an attractive color. These shots were taken on my last dive at Tiger Beach Bahamas 12/2012. It was about 4pm at about 20'. The lemons went after his fins quite a bit since they were white. He got alot of this action throughout the week. I wear black or dark blue fins, a black wetsuit, and either black or blue camo gloves. So far I have had no trouble.

Hope that helps!

Carolyn:shark2:

PS: I agree with Dr. Bill about Red looking much darker at depth. Also the reflective color is what really gets their attention. What you have to understand is that most SHARK FEED dives are at 60' or less and you have to come out of the depths eventually. IJS.

 

[Peter_C]

I dove a red suit in the Red Triangle for years with a couple hundred dives in it. Never saw a Great White *shrug*

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I dove a red suit in the Red Triangle for years with a couple hundred dives in it. Never saw a Great White *shrug*

If there is no shark present then it doesnt matter what color we wear. I was thinking how they would act if they were present.

 

[tstormdiver]

I dove the Galapagos this past summer & wore my Yellow/ Orange drysuit. We were among White Tip Reef, Galapagos, Silky & Hammerhead sharks. None of those species took any interest in me (thank goodness).

 

[Peter_C]

If there is no shark present then it doesnt matter what color we wear. I was thinking how they would act if they were present.

DUH! They are always present, we just don't see them, but they see us. If you read the statistics more Great White shark bites happen on the North Coast of California than anywhere else in the USA. Randy Fry never saw the 18' shark that took his head off.

In fact one of the only scuba divers to ever be bitten by a Great White shark was Marco Flagg, inside the Red Triangle. He did see it coming though. He was scootering while wearing a lot of electronic equipment, which probably had something to do with attracting the predator.

I heard that metal detectors are very interesting to Great Whites...color unimportant.

 

[farsidefan1]

I saw a test on shark week (so sue me, I watch it . Yellow drew a significantly greater nmber of bumps and bites. There is a reason it is called yum yum yellow. That said it probably raises you risk of shark bite from .00000001 to .000000015 ( those statistics should not be relied on, I made them up - in case you hadn't already figured that out).