You are a scuba diver or want to become one? One of the most important things you are going to learn is how to communicate underwater with scuba hand signals.
Some of these diving hand signals are important to speak to your buddy and make sure you can sort out any problems that may arise. Others are a great way to communicate if you see a cool fish or marine creature during your dive.
While you will learn the most common scuba signals during your Open Water Course or a Discover Scuba Diving, it is a good idea to review them frequently especially if you dive with a new buddy. Most signals are universal but depending on where you dive or with whom they can vary a bit so it is a good idea to agree upon signals before you get in the water.
Throughout the dive, you need to make sure to stay close enough to your buddy so you can clearly signal to each other and see their response.
Which ones are the most important scuba diving hand signals? You can check them out here!
Scuba hand signals for safe diving
Okay
This is probably the most important scuba hand signal and is constantly used during a dive. The same sign for okay is used as both, a question and an answer.
You will usually signal okay before descending as well as during the descent and once you reach your bottom depth. It is a good idea to check in with your buddy throughout the dive to make sure they are okay and definitely ask them if you see them struggling with anything or if conditions get a bit rough.
Problem
When you are asking your buddy if they are okay obviously, the desired answer is okay but sometimes it isn’t and that’s when the sign problem comes into play. Once you have signaled that there is a problem point towards whatever troubles you. i.e. to your ears if you can’t equalize, to your mask if it is fogged or keeps on flooding, to your leg if you have a cramp. This way your buddy can either assist you in sorting the issue out or at least wait for you to fix it.
Up/ Down
The signs for up and down are both used during descending and to signal the ascend as well as underwater if you want your buddy to come to your level. Important to remember – in diving a thumbs-up means up and not okay.
Stop/ Slow down
This is a good one to remember if you can see someone is either getting a bit panicked or simply swimming too fast, exhausting themselves, or missing cool things to see.
Danger/ Abort dive
This is generally the sign for danger or to abort a dive.
Out of air
I will admit the sign for out of air is a bit of a morbid one, but keep in mind this is the sign for when things are really quite iffy. When you see your buddy making this sign, immediately grab your alternate air source and prepare to share your air.
How much air?
This is an important one so it doesn’t come to an out of air scenario. You will see a lot from your instructor or dive guide but is also something you and your buddy can ask each other to make sure you know how much air the other person has.
Air
The signs for air can vary throughout the world and will also vary depending on whether you are measuring your air in bar or PSI.
For bar, a commonly accepted sign for 100 bar is a T/shape with your hands indicating that you have half a tank left (most tanks start with 200 bar). For each additional 10 bar you hold up one of your fingers – again, thumbs-up doesn’t count here!
If you are getting to 50 bar which means low on air, you will most likely put a fist on your shoulder. When in doubt, discuss beforehand with your buddy or dive crew what signs you can all agree on.
Breathe
This often goes hand in hand with slow down and is simply a reminder to inhale and exhale calmly.
Buddy up
This is a sign you will see from your instructor or dive guide implying that you should stay closer to your buddy.
Current
This indicates that you are swimming into a current and usually implies that you may want to turn around if possible.
I’m cold
I guess this a signal that works above and below the surface and one you will see me do quite frequently.
Boat
This is a useful little sign to either show that you can see your boat or are starting to head back to the boat.
Safety stop
This sign indicates that it is time for a 3 minutes safety stop (shown by holding up 3 fingers), usually done at 5 m depth (shown by 5 fingers on top).
Scuba hand signals for fish & marine life
Especially if you are a fairly new diver you will be excited about pretty much anything and everything you see underwater. And while it is a great idea to have a fish ID book or slates at hand for after the dive, knowing a few signs to identify marine life while diving is a good idea.
From my experience, fish signals can differ quite a bit depending on where you dive so it is a good idea to check with your dive guide beforehand if there is anything special to look out for and how to signal for it.
Turtle
Squid
Octopus
Frog fish
Leaf fish
Boxfish
Tuna
Yup, this shows opening a can of tuna – I know it is a bit of a morbid one…
Barracuda
You are indicating the stripes of a barracuda.
Grouper
To be honest, I am not sure if that is an official signal but we did a lot of air guitar playing when we saw a guitar shark in Mauritius.
Triggerfish
Lionfish
Moray eel
Nudibranch
Crab
Bullshark or Lobster
I have seen this sign used for bull sharks in South Africa, however, it is also used for lobsters – I guess you would know beforehand which of the two you are more likely to see.
Shark
The open mouth may happen but is probably not advisable underwater.
Hammerhead
If someone pretends to be Princess Leia you might get lucky and see a hammerhead.
Guitarshark
To be honest, I am not sure if that is an official signal but we did a lot of air guitar playing when we saw a guitar shark in Mauritius.
Whaleshark
I am not sure how many people actually use this – chances are if there is a whale shark close by you will hear someone scream with excitement.
Obviously, there are quite a few more scuba hand signals and I have just shown you some of my favorites. Again check with your buddy or dive guide before getting in the water what you may see during your dive and how to signal for it.
