About Red Sea Sharks

Why sharks?

Shark populations worldwide have been pushed to the brink of extinction within only a few decades. Millions die every year because of the insatiable human demand for shark fins, and the highly destructive, unselective fishing methods practised by the industry around the globe.

The sharks' disappearance is worrying on a number of levels. As top oceanic predators, they are of fundamental importance to the balance of the marine ecosystem. Removing them on a large scale has severe consequences through succeeding layers of the marine food web. It has altered other species' abundance, distribution and diversity, and impacted the health of a variety of marine habitats, including sea grass beds and coral reefs. A recovery from depletion is hard to accomplish, since the larger pelagic shark species especially, have a very low reproductive potential; they take years to reach sexual maturity and produce very few young.

Besides ecological considerations, the high economic value of living sharks is widely recognised today. Shark diving is a growing industry; the interest in encountering sharks underwater creates far more revenue than the one-time profit to be gained from killing them.

All these factors have researchers and conservationist campaigning to convince law makers and governmental bodies to finally step up and include more shark species in their protection and management schemes. These efforts are hampered by the lack of available information on basic population parameters and life history patterns of many of the depleted shark species, which are necessary to create and implement effective conservation programs.

Why Red Sea sharks?

As far as we know, the sharks in the Red Sea are in no better situation than their conspecifics around the globe. Fishing pressure has (and has had) an impact of unknown magnitude, and although the sharks' economic value is undisputed, scientific data is scarce; information on population status and ecological needs is insufficient or doesn't exist at all.

The Red Sea Sharks trust aims to rectify that situation by continuing and expanding its research on Red Sea Sharks, using such diverse methods as a volunteer monitoring program, photo-identification, electronic tracking, and dedicated surveys.

Starting with a single photo-ID catalogue of oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) in 2004, it now collects underwater documentation of two additional species (grey reef sharks, C. amblyrhynchos, and silky sharks, C. falciformis) as well as monitoring general shark sightings from the Marine Parks and other reefs throughout Egypt.

12th May 2012: blue o two launches donation programme for Red Sea Sharks

After being established as a trust in April 2012, dive operator blueotwo has launched a support programme to collect donations for Red Sea Sharks onboard their four Egyptian liveaboards, Blue Horizon, Blue Melody, Blue Fin and Blue Voyager.

Diving guests are invited to financially support our work allowing us to expand ongoing photo-identification and monitoring projects, focus on additional surveying and tracking ideas, and continue to raise awareness for the plight of sharks in the Red Sea and around the globe.

27th January 2012: Distinct lack of oceanic whitetip shark sightings in 2011

The year 2011 was marked by a distinct lack of oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) sightings across the Egyptian Red Sea. Except for a period in July/August, when up to 5 individuals were photographed at Elphinstone Reef on the same day, with a total of 13 different individuals being documented during that time.

This turned out to be 2/3 of all the documented individuals throughout 2011. In their normal peak-season (October – December) virtually no oceanics showed up at their previous "hang-outs", Daedalus Reef, Brother Islands, and Elphinstone.

Reasons for their absence could be manifold and highly complex. After all, our possibilities to observe, follow and survey any of our shark species are as limited as our basic knowledge about their residence and larger movement patterns at present.

It would be premature to conclude, that illegal fishing activity is responsible for the lack of sightings in 2011. Red Sea Sharks will continue its efforts to collect information and documentation of not only the oceanic whitetips sharks, but of all the local species in the course of our expanding shark monitoring project.

19th December 2011: Grey reef shark mating season on Brother Islands

The mating season of grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) started in late November 2011, marked by the increased interest of up to 12 male individuals in the single female, that has been observed regularly around the islands since 2006.

As is classic in shark courtship and mating behaviour, the female suffered a variety of fresh wounds from nuptial bites as a consequence of this increased interest (see photograph). Throughout the next few months, we will keep on monitoring shark sightings around Brother Islands, trying to follow the healing process of this particular female, and try to assess if her body girth changes in accordance with a possible pregnancy.

The timing confirms observations of the past years, when mating activities generally occurred towards the end of the calendar year.

17th December 2010: About the shark incidents off Sharm El Sheikh

As a biologist studying oceanic whitetip sharks in the Egyptian Red Sea, I feel it is necessary to comment on the recent events off Sharm El Sheikh. Read or download the report containing relevant information with regards to the chain of attacks, that happened in the end of November/beginning of December. Full information can be found in this document.