Tail Colors & Attracting Sharks?

[AtlantisDreamer]

I'm getting ready to buy my tail. I live in, and swim in, the Monterey Bay of California. We have massive seal and sea lion overpopulation and the oceans are quite full of Great Whites due to that. I used to surf but had a close encounter and decided to stay out of the water from them on, and took up snowboarding. It's been almost six years since then and I can't handle not being able to swim in the ocean anymore - it's therapeutic for me. I've always wanted a tail and now that I'm considering making my purchase, I was wondering what peoples' opinions are on tail colors and how certain colors may or may not, attract deadly predators. To my knowledge, bright colors indicate poisonous fish and invertebrates (poisonous sea slugs, sea cucumbers and some deadly tropical fish)... Does anyone know anything about the statistics on attacks on people who are mermaiding, and, does anyone have any opinions on the concept of tail color and sharks... It's something I've been thinking about fairly seriously. I tend to stay in the kelp beds, by the way... Any info, stories, articles, opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)

[Mermaid Sparkle]

I think there is a similar thread somewhere already discussing this, if any one has a link, that would be lovely!

There is a theory that if your wet suit (or tail) is black and white striped, it is seen as dangerous, and sharks will not attack. I would suggest getting a sea-snake like black and white tail if you are concerned about shark attacks.

You are already doing quite a few things to attract sharks. Sharks LOVE bright contrasting colors. Also, swimming in kelp beds only makes it harder for the shark to see whether you are a seal or not and makes you more likely to have an encounter. Especially since you are swimming in the favorite place of its prey.

I copied most of these tips from a website (I don't want to share the link because it propagates some false information):


Stay out of the water at night, dusk, or dawn. Sharks are most active at night.
Swim in a group. Sharks prefer to attack lone victims.
Keep close to shore. The more dangerous sharks like to attack from below and can't do so in shallow water.
Avoid sandbars and sharp drop-offs where fish congregate
Avoid areas populated by shark prey (seals, fish, sea lions, etc.).
Stay out of polluted or murky water. Try to stay in high visibility areas.
Avoid areas being used by fishermen, the fish blood attracts sharks.
Be wary of feeding birds, or porpoises, which indicate the presence of fish.
Do not swim if you are bleeding. Sharks can detect tiny amounts of blood.
Do not wear shiny jewelry; underwater it resembles fish scales.
Avoid bright swimsuits and uneven tanning. Contrasting colors attract sharks.
Do not splash a lot, since it attracts sharks. Use gentle, flowing movements.
Keep pets out of the water. Erratic movements attract sharks.
Never try to touch any type of shark.


lastly: remember sharks don't want to eat you. they want a seal. there are often sharks there and you don't even know it because they know you're not a seal and couldn't care any less about your existence. But, sometimes they get confused. In most instances, they just give a small bump to see what you are and then leave because you don't feel like prey. IF (and i mean IF - you are 30 times more likely to get struck by lightning than bit by a shark) IF a shark bites you, it will immediately let go because humans don't taste good to sharks. and modern medicine is amazing. your chances of surviving a shark bite are around 95% at the worst. It's closer to 99% in the US.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Thanks for the reply! That's all very interesting information. I appreciate the time you took to look that up :)

Blessings,

[Echidna]

IF (and i mean IF - you are 30 times more likely to get struck by lightning than bit by a shark) IF a shark bites you, it will immediately let go because humans don't taste good to sharks. and modern medicine is amazing. your chances of surviving a shark bite are around 95% at the worst. It's closer to 99% in the US.

well sorry, but that's not correct.

Sure, there are not that many shark attacks on swimmers wordwide, but in most cases, even if they just give you a "taste" bite and leave you alone after, you're one arm or leg short.
Lately, there have been increasingly aggressive attacks reported from Hawai'i and Australia, where the swimmer/snorkeller didn't survive due to sheer bloodloss.

What most people don't know is that sharks are "lured" in to snorkel and diving grounds by tourism agencies,
in order to give their clients something to see on their tours.
Lured sharks can be really aggressive and dangerous, and most don't care whether you're a seal or not.
It might not be the case in California, but you shouldn't swim where this is practiced.

Otherwise, the shark repellent wetsuits were discussed here
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?5640-new-shark-repellent-wetsuits-from-Australia

and dangers of the ocean including sharks here
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?5676-Tails-and-safety

Best would be if you can find a roped-off area to swim.
And I definitely would stay out of kelp beds, you won't even see a danger coming.

[Echidna]

addendum;
in Tail Swimming are a lot of threads regarding ocean swimming and sharks, so have a look at that,
it's been discussed frequently, for example here
http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?2169-How-to-overcome-a-fear-of-sharks

[AtlantisDreamer]

My biggest concern is great white sharks... I live near the central coast of California (Monterey, Carmel, Santa Cruz, etc.). My father has been a professional salt water sport fisherman/catch-and-release for many years, and on the charters I've gone on with him, I've seen some really huge great whites while the boat chums. I also surf. The surfers say that the safest place to be is in the kelp beds because the great whites don't go in there because they get tangled. I'm not sure if this is true or not... However, I have had a few close encounters where I was nosed and pushed against and I haven't done much surfing since then. So getting into mermaiding and sharks is something that concerns me... In our area, we have a huge overpopulation problem. A few years ago, a Japanese tanker accidentally brought some foreign sea weed into our bay. It has caused the clams and oysters to diminish in population, and the otters are nearly extinct in this area now. The environmental change has effected the fish and the sea lions and seals, and has led to overpopulation of seals and sea lions, which is drawing in a lot more great whites. From what I understand, a "taste" bite generally takes off a limb or leads to bleeding out and death, or draws in more sharks and causes a frenzy. As for eating people, great whites have been known to actually eat people. So, this is why I posted this thread... To start some discussion to try and sort out the truth behind the rumors and assumptions in relation to the actual reality of the danger...

[Echidna]

So, this is why I posted this thread... To start some discussion to try and sort out the truth behind the rumors and assumptions in relation to the actual reality of the danger...

well, you just can't say "it's dangerous", or "it's not dangerous".
It's like roulette, really.
You can swim, dive and surf for years and nothing happens to you- or you can go out once and get killed.
Just like you can drive a car for decades and have nothing happen to you, and another unlucky sod drives for the first time and has an accident.

In your case, however (changes in ecosystem, seal overpopulation, many great whites incoming),
I would rather be safe than sorry.
Great whites have eaten people, yes, but other sharks (bull, tiger, reef) are just as dangerous.
I think the dude in South Africa that was swallowed whole in breast-deep water was a really unlucky exception.
There's a video of Hannah diving in the middle of dozens of sharks. None makes a move toward her.

You just cannot make a general rule about it.

If I were you however, I know I'd stay out of the ocean :p
Maybe find a spot roped off with nets, and stay in really shallow water
(but make sure it's clear, so you can run out if something comes in anyway).

I love the ocean, but in tropical climates, I'm just too scared of all the things that can get you
(sharks, jellyfish, octopus, and in Australia, saltwater crocs).

[PearlieMae]

Pools. That's the only 100% solution.

[Lotus]

I agree with Caltuna and Pearlie. If you already know there is a major imbalance in the ecosystem that has attracted sharks you're taking a big gamble. Not to mention, if you're swimming in a tail you are that much more helpless should something try to get hold of you. You don't have your legs to kick and fight with, nor can you just swim for shore and then stand up and run for it. I'm sure if you had a stiff fin and a little tide you could kinda beach yourself, but if I were you I'd just not go there. If you're still on the fence tho, see if there are any local marine biologists you could speak with for their opinion on this. If anyone knows what kind of risk you're taking by donning a tail and hopping in it should be them. If you do decide you're still going ahead with your venture, do take the time to get used to your tail in a pool first, and please don't go out alone. :) All my best to you!

[AtlantisDreamer]

If you're still on the fence tho, see if there are any local marine biologists you could speak with for their opinion on this

That's a REALLY good idea! Especially because UCSC (Santa Cruz) is the local university that's currently doing the most research on the changing ecosystem in the Monterey Bay. I should go over there and see if I can talk to one of the professors. I guess it also comes down to how much you enjoy what you're doing as well... Surfers generally give little attention to sharks and shark bites because they find what they do to be more enjoyable and worth the risk than to discontinue or never start doing the sport it is that they enjoy - so, in that I LOVE being in the ocean, and especially out in the kelp beds, perhaps it's worth the risk - I'll have to think on it...

[Patches]

I think I watched something on TV a few years ago saying that the color sharks were most attracted to was like orange or red? I don't exactly remember but it was something like that.

[Anahita]

I agree with Lotus and Sparklesparkle on this, because rather than scaring you, they offered some very useful advice for ocean swimming.

I live in SoCal now, so I don't have to worry about sharks so much (we have had an increase in them recently, but they've been "babies"... Great Whites no more than 8ft long still hunting fish) But the same things still apply. Looking like a pinniped or lone porpoise is our MAJOR issue. So in order to counter that, we must be careful about the clarity, depth, socialized swimming and so on of the water we swim in. And we must ALWAYS try to avoid areas heavily populated by pinnipeds especially - because in those places, not only draw sharks, but orcas (in fact, the only known reported wild orca attacks have been recorded in areas where orcas were hunting pinnipeds - of course none of those have been fatal, but sharks mistaking humans can be).

A color might not trigger the shark so much as a shape (after all, I think sharks only view the world in black and white as per several studies) so your shape is more of a hunting trigger. Just take Lotus' and Sparklesparkle's advice.

[AtlantisDreamer]

I'm looking at buying a koi fish colored tail... I wonder how that will go over in the ocean...

[SeaGlass Siren]

I can't really see koi in the ocean. Maybe a fish bowl or pool or pond but not in the ocean lol

Thats like putting a shark in a pond LOL!

[SeaGlass Siren]

Ooo or how about a lion fish?

[Seatan]

Honestly, as a SCUBA diver, I fall under the heading of those surfers: the enjoyment outweighs the relatively small risk. I also ride horses, barrel racing and jumping, and it is MUCH more dangerous than being in waters that may have sharks. The scare factor is SO much less, because everyone is so afraid if sharks, but all it takes is one fall (and you WILL fall eventually) to kill or paralyze you forever. But that doesn't stop me from riding! I was taught by dive masters to stay very still if you see a shark and wait for it to pass, which most will. If it does not go away, swim very slowly and steadily away. Sharks are drawn to things splashing and moving around. Honestly, I think this one comes down to the old "weigh the danger" thing. SO many things we do are very dangerous (even riding bikes in a city street), they just don't have the "fear factor" that sharks do. Motorcycles, skateboarding, rock climbing, car driving, walking across the street.... They all have serious dangers that you can reduce a little by being careful but are still dangerous. IMO, the ocean is worth it!

[Merman Dan]

Pools. That's the only 100% solution.

Ummm....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri-UE0pEomA
(Language)

[Merman Dan]

My Finfolk tail will be red AND patterned after a game fish. I guess I'm a goner. ;)

http://www.chefs-resources.com/files/Red-Drum-Fish/Red_Drum-by-Duane-Raver-USFWS.jpg

[Seraphina Suds]

Check out the wet suits on this page (http://www.sharkmitigation.com/products-using-sams-shark-deterrent-technology.html). They're supposed to be shark deterrents due to the colors. They kind of make you blend into the water. It'd be interesting to base a tail off of that kind of design.

[Anahita]

Ummm....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri-UE0pEomA
(Language)

LMAO omg, that was good :lol:

[Echidna]

Actually, this is reminiscent of a real occurrance:
a shark from a Bahamas aquarium jumped over the rim of its tank, landed in a big slide of the water park,
and slid down into the hotel pool.

While a shark going down a slide and landing in the pool below must be quite a sight to behold, in this case,
it sadly led to the shark's death because the hotel pool (deserted at the time) was heavily chlorinated.
So yea, a chlorinated pool should be safe even if a shark somehow manages to get in
(not vouching for alligators though :p).

[AtlantisDreamer]

^ LOL!
Thanks for the page on the wetsuits... That's really interesting. I'm quite set on this particular koi patterned tail, so I guess I'll be the only freshwater fish in the ocean :p Or maybe I'll just look a Garibaldi. I've decided the enjoyment outweighs the risk, and I love free diving... So, sharks, you can kiss my orange tail! Lol. Thanks you to everyone who participated in this thread, it's helped me figure out how I feel about this issue.

[AptaMer]

I think there is a similar thread somewhere already discussing this, if any one has a link, that would be lovely!



Here's the thread discussing shark-repellent wetsuits

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?5640-new-shark-repellent-wetsuits-from-Australia

One of the themes is that venemous annimals, both on land and in the sea, advertise their venemousness with vertical banding patterns, e.g.

Lionfish 15135 Banded sea snake 15136 Wasp 15137

I saw a study done many years ago in which the divers found that bands like the wasp's and the sea snake's on their wetsuits did lead to aversion of sharks. The people who have designed the new wetsuits seem to have been commercializing the concept.

Anyhow, it seems that vertical banding, like the lionfish or sea snake might be a halpful pattern to use on your tail, or work vertical, lionfish-style bands into your koi pattern..

Caltuna has already done the banded sea snake pattern, as I recall.

[Echidna]

^^ye, I've done several banded tails because I love sea snakes.

Haven't tried them out in the ocean though, and not sure whether it would work outside of tropical seas where seakraits and lionfish are endemic.
A mediterranean shark would probably go "ooh, what's that strange bandy thing? doesn't matter" *gobblegobble*

That said, I'm not sure sharks do see colours that well.
When they strike from below, they only see a dark silhouette and go for anything that looks seal-shaped, I reckon.

That would make surfers much more interesting than me, especially when I'm swimming sideways in a snaketail-
I'll just look like a huge snake from below then.

[Mermaid Melanie]

Ive swam with black tip reef sharks, 5m nurse sharks and guitar sharks, in a mermaid tail and one of the black tips had a taste of my ankles but i guess he realised i was not food and gently let go - no marks or cuts was very gentle - i just think they are misunderstood - there are people who swim with great whites on a regular basis with no problems because they understand how to behave around them... i think we need to remember it is their home not ours and when we swim we are essentially intruding on their turf.....

[Aziara]

From what I understand, great whites aren't all that dangerous, contrary to what Jaws would have you believe. It's just that they're so big that a rare 'test bite' could be quite damaging. And nurse sharks and blacktip sharks are very docile, I remember going to an aquarium once and they had a few smaller ones in a shallow petting tank where kids could reach in and touch them. The sharks didnt seem to mind at all.

[Trident True]

Most people are afraid of sharks "as we just dont know what they are going to do" some say the animals can smell fear.... but there are a few things ive done when i was a kid/mid teens.

when swimming

always be familiar with your surroundings. are you swimming near a reef. sea weeds etc. is there somewhere you can hide if a shark does come in.

try to stay away from the surface. less aggitation on the water suface will help. simply go up breathe, look around then dive back down into the water.

always swim at a distance that your eyesite is visible. when i was a kid I used to swim off a jetty, nothing phased me. but would i do that now NO WAY. as i cant see the bottom. :) im alot like my mother in that aspect, if i cant see the bottom i dont go in. mostly muddy and murkey waters.

always swim with a friend or a group of friends. most attacks are when people are alone.

carry a protection item of some sort on you. a kife etc. I will be carrying a trident with me and im going to design it to be very fluent in the water. most of us mers will agree that we dont swim with ANY protection.


most sharks have poor eyesite and go off senses. there is danger in everthing you do. all we can do is be cautious

[Trident True]

Ive swam with black tip reef sharks, 5m nurse sharks and guitar sharks, in a mermaid tail and one of the black tips had a taste of my ankles but i guess he realised i was not food and gently let go - no marks or cuts was very gentle - i just think they are misunderstood - there are people who swim with great whites on a regular basis with no problems because they understand how to behave around them... i think we need to remember it is their home not ours and when we swim we are essentially intruding on their turf.....



yep very true, my mother says the same thing... i say, they wil have to learn to share.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Most people are afraid of sharks "as we just dont know what they are going to do" some say the animals can smell fear.... but there are a few things ive done when i was a kid/mid teens.

when swimming

always be familiar with your surroundings. are you swimming near a reef. sea weeds etc. is there somewhere you can hide if a shark does come in.

try to stay away from the surface. less aggitation on the water suface will help. simply go up breathe, look around then dive back down into the water.

always swim at a distance that your eyesite is visible. when i was a kid I used to swim off a jetty, nothing phased me. but would i do that now NO WAY. as i cant see the bottom. :) im alot like my mother in that aspect, if i cant see the bottom i dont go in. mostly muddy and murkey waters.

always swim with a friend or a group of friends. most attacks are when people are alone.

carry a protection item of some sort on you. a kife etc. I will be carrying a trident with me and im going to design it to be very fluent in the water. most of us mers will agree that we dont swim with ANY protection.


most sharks have poor eyesite and go off senses. there is danger in everthing you do. all we can do is be cautious

Yeah... When I first started surfing, I would paddle out under the wharf with the sea lions sprawled out on the wooden structures... There's no way in heck I'd do that now. So yeah, I agree with you... Vigilance about their territory, using good judgment about where to swim and assessing the risk, etc. I think the reason I really don't feel comfortable around whites is because I've been nosed by one before on my surf board and also because they're overpopulated in the bay right now.

[SIF]

The attack reported in hawaii, recently, was a german tourist snorkeling and swimming on a marked beach. The Monk seals were in that area AND it's a highly shark populated area. There are signs and if one is intelligent about feeding times in an area, sharks can be avoided. If you see one, calmly swim to somewhere else or power yourself enough to stay in place and open up your arms. Sharks are not heavily reliant on sight, medically, and will see a large fish/starfish THING and likely think your sihlouete is a squid. The bigger you look, if you do not calmly and superiorly evacuate, the better because the bigger they prey the longer the predator has to chase and the less likely the predator will try.(This is how it works with bears, big cats, minor cats and primates.) The advice about the Kelp beds is right. It's a bad idea unless you are in a shallow, sheltered cove. As a zoo Volunteer, that's the best I can help with. Start by looking up the feed/active times for your area.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Thank you. I will have a look at the fishing reports for the bay... That should have the precise information on what hours of dawn and dusk are most risky, or, in the case of the fishing charters, the best time for them to decide to go out and chum...

[AniaR]

This was on myth busters.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Mermaid Sparkle]

This was on myth busters.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

And...?

What did they find?

[AptaMer]

a chlorinated pool should be safe even if a shark somehow manages to get in
(not vouching for alligators though :p).

Actually, alligator do just fine in a pool. As attested in this news article:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/florida-wildlife-officials-rule-that--kids-gator-pool-parties-are-unsafe/1254582

Only in Florida, LOL, or California


http://youtu.be/EgfY7I6OKTE http://youtu.be/EgfY7I6OKTE

[Echidna]

:/ I feel very sorry for the gator in that clip.
And taking an animal as attraction to a kid party, while taping its snout with electric tape, should be forbidden as it's clearly animal cruelty.
Stuff like this is certainly not allowed in Europe.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Yeah, no that's not legal in the USA. There is not as much humane rights for alligators as I would prefer, but they do have rights and it's certainly not legal to have an alligator as an attraction at a kid's birthday party with it's mouth duct-taped. I suppose if you wanted to pay a lot of money, you could have a reptile center bring an alligator to your child's birthday party to show the kids, but it would have a proper securing piece over the mouth and there certainly wouldn't be any gator wrestling or anything like that... They might let the kids touch it and talk about alligators and reptiles and then it would be taken back to its habitat. However, in Florida, there are issues with gators which is why a lot of the abuse and gator wrestling stuff is tolerated... The gators get into peoples' living spaces and people have been attacked - about once a year a baby or small child gets eaten by a gator. They will get into ponds and lakes, and if they find one that's on a golf course for example, they will stalk individuals that they feel are small enough to be prey. I remember one year there was a gator that had somehow gotten itself out onto the freeway and gotten stuck - it was so big that it stretched across all four lanes and the median (a very, very old alligator). Traffic was blocked until animal control was able to move it. So, I'm certainly not justifying the gator wrestling thing or any sort of animal cruelty, but the reason that it's not at the top of the list for animal cruelty issues in this country is in part a cultural thing in that the people who live in the area they inhabit consider them to be a pest and a danger.

[drucilla]

Comment directed to original post:
Now you have to worry about Orcas too, lol.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Indeed! Unless you can pull off some sort of spiritual connection with them... There are a few Otherkin folk I've met who've been able to swim with Orca pods, but it's certainly not something I'd attempt, and I do have spiritual connections with dolphins, orcas, baleen whales, manatees and dugongs.

[Merrow Erie]

I used to study sharks like obsessively. I planned on majoring in marine biology for a while because of it.

Sharks don't rely on sight much because they have an excellent sense of smell. They can sense movements in the water, and they do attack from below. The biggest thing is splashing around/ flailing in the water, because it raises the same signals of an injured fish in distress.

From below, colors really don't matter. The silhouette is too dark to pick out details.

Most shark attacks occur in three feet of water, sometimes as close as ten feet from shore.

Stay out of the water at night, it becomes even harder to distinguish a person from a seal or fish.

No matter what, just stay calm. More people are killed each year by vending machines than by sharks. That is an honest fact.

If a shark swims near, chances are it's just curious. Don't flail, don't freak out, just move calmly away. If it's too close, hit its nose with the heel of your palm. The nose is like their nerve center, and a decent blow is extremely disorienting and unpleasant.

Sharks' eyes roll back when they're preparing to attack. If you still see black, they aren't a threat.

More people are killed by house pets and inanimate objects than sharks. They are NOT out to get you by any means.

[AtlantisDreamer]

Yeah! That's what my professor told me in college for biology... He was a scuba diver. He said if a predator shark comes to close, strike it in the nose, and if you can get a second hit in, go for it. If you can't get the nose, he said to poke it's eye out, and if neither the eye or the nose are in reach, rip at the gills. Apparently injuring their gills is major because they'll start bleeding and the other sharks will frenzy and eat the one that was bothering said individual. The nose punch is supposed to cause confusion and dizziness and the eye thing he told me about said would just cause pain.

[Mermaid Sierra]

Just giving a little idea, but if you watch shark week on Discovery channel, there is an experiment that they do that could solve your problem. it is actually based on great whites as well. they send dummies in a shark cage into the ocean. the colors of the dummies are i think, red, neon yellow, and average wetsuit colors (black and blue.) and the study showed that the great whites were less attracted to the black and blue. they were attracted to the other colors though. so your best bet is to get some very dark or camoflauged colors for whenever you are swimming.

[malinghi]

I don't want to encourage anyone to do something that might be dangerous, but considering that fear of sharks is so overhyped overall, I'm very skeptical about the danger posed by swimming in a mermaid tail, and about the likelihood that the color will have a significant effect on the likelihood of an attack.

Also, that company selling wetsuits to discourage shark attacks sounds like a scam. The suits cost twice as much as normal wetsuits. It might be legit, but the company might just be cashing in on a popular phobia.

[MermaidAmestris]

Well my tail is black and blue, and I plan on keeping the same color scheme, so I think I'm good haha