Do intense colors on boards atract sea predators?

[detourpr]

credits to Discovery Channel

[stunaite]

Some years ago I saw a program explaining that yellow/black pattern bars put sharks away. Usually vivid colours means " not good to eat". I never tested this theory and I hope you never need to test it either

[kiter147]

i know the best way so he doesnt loose his bored he should just not fall off of it. that fixes all of it. no but really he should just put some stickers on the board so he could see it better.

[Windrider]

Every animal in the sea, with the exception of krill and the herbivors is a predator. I'm sure bight colors might attract some of them.... most likely the cephalopods.... some out of curiosity, some out of hunger, some might just want to ask you out.... to their lair 80 fathoms down...

[stjutivu]

Not a shark biologist, but this page seemed to describe the vision of sharks pretty well

http://www.elasmo-research.org/educatio ... vision.htm


btw. Bacteria can also "see" and respond to colours in a primitive but significant way

Oh...............and many of the beautifully coloured fish...........do NOT appear to have that colour in their natural environment due to the selective attenuation of light of different wavelengths.

[paul m]

This is a silly topic, but i love how people belive only what they read.

I have had tons of encounters with sharks, most of them good......2x bad.....biten

why then when in the water and 4 kayaks where the bulls only charging the yellow one? did not even go near the others and no one was in the water.

Had bright yellow shorts on free diving, had sharks come right up to me and check me out, as the other guy in green didnt get bothered.

One of the sharks that bit me was going after a board leash, was a black tip....they are pissy things.

So i would not rule out sharks being color blind, as i have had 5 different situations where they only bothered the yellow.........i dont wear yellow when i dive.....lol

anyway thats what i have seen in the water, not on t.v. or heard..

[noel]

Although I'm not sure about the colorblind thing, I live in the keys most of the year and kite in the same waters as Paul M. I see sharks everyday. I've kited next to a 14 ft. Hammerhead and bulls bigger than jetskis. I also know many others with different color boards that have never had a problem. Today I saw a show on Discovery channel called the 10 deadliest sharks and while talking about the Mako shark, one of the researchers said that sharks can see bright and shiny colors. Namely red and yellow. Is it true? I don't know but I really don't care. I think sharks are one of the coolest creatures on earth and if it's your time? So be it.

I do think the is a silly thread though.

[SBBeachbum]

. I think sharks are one of the coolest creatures on earth and if it's your time? So be it.

The coolest creature on earth is Jessica Biel and she is certainly not colorblind ....

[Wibbler]

So i would not rule out sharks being color blind, as i have had 5 different situations where they only bothered the yellow..........

Thanks for the tip... I'm buying all my kite-buddies yellow shorts for christmas

[Skyway Scott]

A couple articles by George Burgess.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/color.htm

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/kids/Avoid/avoid.htm