Question: Wetsuit color & shark attack?

Hi everybody,

I just wonder if there is any relation between wetsuit
color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others said
yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I couldn't
find any information on this. Thank you.

Casey

"boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> Hi everybody,
>
> I just wonder if there is any relation between
wetsuit
> color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others said
> yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
couldn't
> find any information on this. Thank you.
>
> Casey

Dunno but ive not been attacked by one and my wetsuit and drysuit are black.

Thought they hunted off smell anyway as they can only see shapes.

If a bright colour is safest then why do surfers have a high shark attack
ratio. Ive seen very few (if any) black surf boards.
S'pose it also depends how deep you are as colours diminish the deeper you
go.

The perfest test would be to dive into shark infested waters with a wetsuit
made of half yellow and half black neoprene and see which limb you lost
first.

Thats my 2p worth

Alex


---
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boatlover wrote:
> I just wonder if there is any relation between
> wetsuit color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect
> while others said yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what
> you are and wouldn't recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any
> suggestion on this? I couldn't find any information on this. Thank
> you.

Since the general consensus in marine biology seems
to be that sharks hunt by smell and their electrical
impulse sense something conductive might help
(assuming you don't smell of seal). Chain mail might
work and if it doesn't it would at least help you
to make it back to report that it didn't.

I doubt that a shark has colour vision as that seems
to be limited to hunt-by-sight critters, even if all
they 'hunt' is flowers, but I could easily be wrong.
I read somewhere that colour vision involves quite an
investment in image processing in the brain and if
there is an another acute sense it doesn't offer
enough pay-back to be kept in survival-of-the-fittest
terms.

nigelH

So maybe I should just forget about color and just go for a black one if it
really doesn't matters. Thanks Alex!
"Splosh Junkie" <diver@whsmithnet.co.uk> ¦b¶l¥ó
news:3f8e9b04_1@mk-nntp-1.news.uk.worldonline.com ¤¤¼¶¼g...
>
> "boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
> news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> > Hi everybody,
> >
> > I just wonder if there is any relation between
> wetsuit
> > color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others
said
> > yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> > recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
> couldn't
> > find any information on this. Thank you.
> >
> > Casey
>
> Dunno but ive not been attacked by one and my wetsuit and drysuit are
black.
>
> Thought they hunted off smell anyway as they can only see shapes.
>
> If a bright colour is safest then why do surfers have a high shark attack
> ratio. Ive seen very few (if any) black surf boards.
> S'pose it also depends how deep you are as colours diminish the deeper you
> go.
>
> The perfest test would be to dive into shark infested waters with a
wetsuit
> made of half yellow and half black neoprene and see which limb you lost
> first.
>
> Thats my 2p worth
>
> Alex
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.521 / Virus Database: 319 - Release Date: 23/09/03
>
>

"boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> Hi everybody,
>
> I just wonder if there is any relation between
wetsuit
> color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others said
> yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
couldn't
> find any information on this. Thank you.
>
> Casey
>
>

About a year ago, there was a chap who said he was doing a study and said he
would report his results back to the group in a few weeks, it has been quite
a while, he has not been heard from.....

"Rudy Benner" <benner@BOGUS.personainternet.com> wrote in message
news:votb4fnkijmm77@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
> news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> > Hi everybody,
> >
> > I just wonder if there is any relation between
> wetsuit
> > color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others
said
> > yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> > recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
> couldn't
> > find any information on this. Thank you.
> >
> > Casey
> >
> >
>
> About a year ago, there was a chap who said he was doing a study and said
he
> would report his results back to the group in a few weeks, it has been
quite
> a while, he has not been heard from.....
>
I told him a pink suit was the wrong colour!!

"Rudy Benner" <benner@BOGUS.personainternet.com> wrote in message
news:votb4fnkijmm77@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
> news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> > Hi everybody,
> >
> > I just wonder if there is any relation between
> wetsuit
> > color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others
said
> > yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> > recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
> couldn't
> > find any information on this. Thank you.
> >
> > Casey
> >
> >
>
> About a year ago, there was a chap who said he was doing a study and said
he
> would report his results back to the group in a few weeks, it has been
quite
> a while, he has not been heard from.....
>
>

For the record, d'you know what colour suit he was wearing? :)

Nic

"boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
news:bmm8ih$2c1m$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> So maybe I should just forget about color and just go for a black one if
it
> really doesn't matters. Thanks Alex!

Well, actually, I've heard yellow referred to as "yummy, yummy yellow", as
in shark's seem to be attracted to it.

A black one would make you look more like a seal though, don't you think?

Maybe you should get a bright red one with green trim.

> "Splosh Junkie" <diver@whsmithnet.co.uk> ¦b¶l¥ó
> news:3f8e9b04_1@mk-nntp-1.news.uk.worldonline.com ¤¤¼¶¼g...
> >
> > "boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
> > news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> > > Hi everybody,
> > >
> > > I just wonder if there is any relation between
> > wetsuit
> > > color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others
> said
> > > yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> > > recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
> > couldn't
> > > find any information on this. Thank you.
> > >
> > > Casey
> >
> > Dunno but ive not been attacked by one and my wetsuit and drysuit are
> black.
> >
> > Thought they hunted off smell anyway as they can only see shapes.
> >
> > If a bright colour is safest then why do surfers have a high shark
attack
> > ratio. Ive seen very few (if any) black surf boards.
> > S'pose it also depends how deep you are as colours diminish the deeper
you
> > go.
> >
> > The perfest test would be to dive into shark infested waters with a
> wetsuit
> > made of half yellow and half black neoprene and see which limb you lost
> > first.
> >
> > Thats my 2p worth
> >
> > Alex
> >
> >
> > ---
> > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> > Version: 6.0.521 / Virus Database: 319 - Release Date: 23/09/03
> >
> >
>
>

Rudy Benner left this mess on Thu, 16 Oct 2003 10:33:42 -0400 for The Way to
clean up:
>
>
>"boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
>news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
>> Hi everybody,
>>
>> I just wonder if there is any relation between
>wetsuit
>> color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others said
>> yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
>> recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
>couldn't
>> find any information on this. Thank you.
>>
>> Casey
>>
>>
>
>About a year ago, there was a chap who said he was doing a study and said he
>would report his results back to the group in a few weeks, it has been quite
>a while, he has not been heard from.....

I think the funeral was about two weeks after he posted that here. I think it
was a pink suit he was wearing.

Tao te Carl

"It takes a village to have an idiot." - Carl (c) 2003

Stats related to this question can be found at the site below:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/default.htm



"boatlover" <boatlover1971@yahoo.com.hk> wrote in message
news:bmm5n2$2aci$1@news.hgc.com.hk...
> Hi everybody,
>
> I just wonder if there is any relation between
wetsuit
> color & shark attacks? Somebody told me black is perfect while others said
> yellow is best cause sharks can't figure out what you are and wouldn't
> recognize you as a seal. Does anybody has any suggestion on this? I
couldn't
> find any information on this. Thank you.
>
> Casey
>
>