High vis fins vs black fins

[Damselfish]

Yes, it is a thing. Ever heard of yum yum yellow?

We recently did shark dives from Beqa lagoon resort Fiji. That op definitely cared, didn’t want contrast. That includes the contrast between like a shorty and bare arms or legs. If you didn’t have a wetsuit they were happy with they would loan you something. But they didn’t care about fin color, possibly because we were kneeling behind a rubble wall during the action so fins weren’t so obvous. Basically not expecting to eliminate every last thing that might attract attention but do what they reasonably could. I’d imagine they all have the same rules there.

Shark dives we did in the southern Bahamas I don’t recall them caring, but they weren’t as crazy or close as the Beqa ones. But it may be different someplace with more serious sharks like Tiger Beach.

Fins are a great way to spot and identify people. I would not choose fin color based on the rare shark dive.

 

[DanBMW]

In the aquarium where I dive, we have orange, yellow and black fins and the sharks don't seem to show a preference.

 

[Nemrod]

In the aquarium where I dive, we have orange, yellow and black fins and the sharks don't seem to show a preference.

I would not think an aquarium with (well fed) sharks would be a good sample. They are essentially habituated to divers. Sharks in the wild, and in some places, the sharks may never have seen human divers, that may be a different thing.

There are probably things (contrasting suits and bare limbs, behaviors of the divers, proximity of the group and one diver all out alone (my instance*) that would trigger a feeding instinct with wild sharks more than fin colors.

*This instance was not a lined up on the bottom with diver habituated sharks, but out in the middle of the Gulf Stream with no bottom and sharks that had likely never seen a diver.

 

[DanBMW]

I would not think an aquarium with (well fed) sharks would be a good sample. They are essentially habituated to divers. Sharks in the wild, and in some places, the sharks may never have seen human divers, that may be a different thing.

There are probably things (contrasting suits and bare limbs, behaviors of the divers, proximity of the group and one diver all out alone (my instance*) that would trigger a feeding instinct with wild sharks more than fin colors.

*This instance was not a lined up on the bottom with diver habituated sharks ,but out in the middle of the Gulf Stream with no bottom and sharks that had likely never seen a diver.

Some very good points.

 

[Centrals]

Colour disappears in deep water, red is the first follow by orange and then yellow.
Blue and Green is better in this respect.
The turbidity of the water is also important, neon colour(fluorescent orange) is very good.

 

[boulderjohn]

Colour disappears in deep water, red is the first follow by orange and then yellow.
Blue and Green is better in this respect.
The turbidity of the water is also important, neon colour(fluorescent orange) is very good.

It does not literally disappear. I have dived to a maximum of 97 m/320 feet in the ocean, and at that depth, everything looks blue/gray, but the yellow gear stands out in contrast. It doesn't look yellow, but it still stands out.

On our second dive today, we did a 93 minute drift dive, with a maximum depth of 30 m/99 feet. The current was strong, and at times the dive guide was so far ahead of me that the only thing I could make out as I followed was his yellow fins.

 

[Centrals]

Colors Underwater | PBS LearningMedia

Observe how different wavelengths of light penetrate to different depths in the ocean and see how colored objects change appearance as they descend underwater. Use this resource to develop and use models of the absorption of light and observe how different wavelengths of light interact with water.

www.pbslearningmedia.org

 

[TostitoBandito]

Don't dive/support shark diving ops who bait/feed and create unnatural frenzies to the point where fin color is a consideration for your survival, and you've got nothing to worry about. I've never heard of any dive operator anywhere caring in any normal diving context.

Photography/videography is another consideration. With white fins you can use them as a white balance slate conveniently held for you at the right distance from your camera (similar to a subject).