Egypt's Endangered Sharks: Arab Spring had unintended consequence for conservation

It's been quite a few years since the week I spent diving in the northern Red Sea. Staying on a live-aboard dive boat, I had the chance to see corals that in many ways have remained unsurpassed to me ever since. The reef fish were quite abundant while, in more open water, most sharks were skittish and kept their distance, except for my first close-up encounter with a large nurse shark that was only interested in resting undisturbed on the sandy bottom.

However, according to the Egypt Independent, the Red Sea's geography that positions it as an almost completely closed body of water (open naturally in the south at the Ba-el-Mandeb Strait and in the north at the man-made Suez Canal) has not isolated it from the same problems that befall sharks throughout the rest of the world's oceans: Egypt's sharks are endangered.

Amr Ali, managing director of the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) , claims that the populations of hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, and other sharks species have declined by as much as 80 percent, and for much the same reason as is found in other oceans.

“Over the years we’ve had many different cases of illegal fishing in the Red Sea,” said Ali. "Five years ago there was a big issue with Chinese poachers; last year it was the Yemenis. It is certainly by far the main reason behind the sharp decline.”

With iconic pyramids and many other ancient locations to visit and artifacts to see, Egypt has a large and lucrative tourism industry to protect. Because of that, the economic value in tourisim dollars for a living shark as opposed to a dead one is not lost on Egyptian officials. But they have been slow to respond to the overfishing or illegal fishing of sharks because they consider what shark fishing brings to lower-income local fisherman and because there has not been a convincing amount of study done in the Red Sea on shark populations.

Reported in the Egypt Independent, "Relying on the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) is useless, says Ali. 'So our role, if we’re serious about preventing declining populations, has to be a very active one.' In 2006, the HEPCA obtained two decrees from the Red Sea governor banning fishing for and trading sharks. Getting caught with a shark illegally resulted in severe penalties."

Encouraging, but with the coming of the Arab Spring in December of last year, the law enforcement infrastructures for many countries bordering the Red Sea weakened and with that, illegal shark fishing has increased dramatically. Government resources and priorities are being drawn elsewhere and, while the demise of dictatorships and oppressive governments are being welcomed as good news by major developed countries and Arab citizens alike, an unintended consequence has been a loss of environmental protections.

“The [army] coast guards used to fend off poachers which really helped,” Amr Ali observed. “But with them gone, it’s impossible for us or other NGOs to monitor 160km of coast.”

To help make a compelling case for shark protection - strong enough to once again make it a government priority - scientists will need to conduct more research. An overwhelming body of facts combined with a thorough explanation of the consequences of doing nothing (the trophic cascade effect that can occur when top predators like sharks are removed from the ecosystem) is what is needed for government officials to realize the magnitude of the problem and how the short-term gain for local fishermen is far outweighed by the long-term negative impact on the entire Red Sea ocean community and, by extension, on the local fishermen as well.

Mexican researchers faced this same problem in the early 2000's when they sought protections for several species of sharks and rays. The Mexican government wanted data - a lot of it. And so years of tagging and tracking studies were engaged until the evidence was indisputable. When I first met Mauricio Hoyos Ph.D. in 2005, the then graduate student was tagging and tracking great white sharks at Isla Guadalupe for just that purpose. And he continues to tag and monitor white sharks to this day.

In Egypt, HEPCA intends to embark on an extensive tagging study in 2012, along with developing a database of shark fin species and location identification, using DNA from the fins, to compile the data needed to make a case for renewed and more aggressive conservation measures.

Amr Ali said, “Once these studies are done, we’ll hopefully be able to create a proper science for shark conservation in Egypt.”

Let's hope so. I still consider the Red Sea as one of my all-time favorite dive locations even though I was there just the one time - that's how impressed I was with the beauty and biodiversity of this unique body of water. Without sharks, it stands to suffer greatly.

Source: Egypt Independent.

Egypt's Shark Frenzy: expert team issues findings

The furor that erupted in Egypt and amongst shark advocates over the recent spate of shark incidents in Sharm El-Shiekh, near the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has begun to subside. The beaches and dive sites are, for the most part, all open and, most importantly, the events have fallen off the media spin cycle.

SharkDivers, which has been following this situation closely, forwarded to me a news release issued by the international team of experts that were brought in at the behest of the Egyptian government. Their conclusions touched on many of the suspicions that existed at the time of the last attack (see previous post). The majority of the factors cited in the news release centered around human activity - illegal human activity. And absolutely none of the suspected causes could be attributed to some malevolent behavior on the part of the sharks.

There have been reports that the Egyptian government will utilize steel nets to cordon off swimming areas. Hopefully that will be a temporary measure and that once the illegal activities have ceased, over time the sharks will resume movement patterns that may diminish the possibility of adverse shark-human encounters.

Global Shark Attack File

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For additional information please contact:

Ralph S. Collier, Shark Research Committee/Global Shark Attack File
sharkresearch@aol.com

Marie Levine, Shark Research Institute
marie@sharks.org

Sharm El-Sheikh Shark Attacks: Update

Between November 30 and December 5, 2010 there were 5 unprovoked shark attacks reported from Sharm El-Shiekh, Egypt. Following these attacks the Egyptian government assembled an international team of experts to conduct a forensic analysis of the attacks: Ralph S. Collier, President of the Shark Research Committee and Director of the Global Shark Attack File; Marie Levine, Executive Director, of the Shark Research Institute; Moustafa Fouda, MSEA; Mohammad Salem, EEAA; and Nassar Galal, CDWS. The team gathered eyewitness testimony, examined the attack locations, and reviewed the forensic evidence, including all environmental factors present prior to each of the attacks. The following is a list of those factors they believed to be contributor to the attacks:

• The illegal dumping of sheep carcasses by animal transport vessels within 1.2 miles of the shore.
• The unique underwater topography of the area; i.e., deep water very close to shore allowing pelagic sharks and humans to swim in close proximity.
• Although fishing is restricted in the Sharm El-Sheikh region, unrestrained fishing in the Red Sea has depleted fish stocks and reduced the amount of natural prey available to sharks.
• Shark and human population dynamics, i.e., 5 million people visit Sharm El-Sheikh annually and numbers of sharks migrate through the area each year.
• Feeding of fish by glass bottom boats and swimmers drew the sharks close to the beach.
• Elevated sea temperatures resulted in higher metabolic rates of the sharks and increased their energy (food) requirements.
• Although prohibited, it is believed that some dive operators have been feeding the sharks, which could have habituated the sharks to humans as a source for food.

It was determined from forensic evidence and eyewitness testimony that two species of sharks were responsible for the attacks; shortfin mako, Isurus oxyrinchus, and oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus. Historical data obtained from the Global Shark Attack File for Egypt confirmed additional incidents from 2004 to the present (www.sharkattackfile.net/).

Suggestions to reduce the potential for such future events were provided to officials for review and implementation.

Egypt's Shark Frenzy: incidents bring scientists in search of answers

Having taken a few days away from the RTSea Blog while on a film assignment, I return to find the public relations wheels in full spin at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with sharks being on the losing end once again.

Over the past few weeks, there have been five shark incidents in the waters off this popular Egyptian tourist resort, reaching a fevered pitch with the death of a 70-year old German woman who was snorkeling close to shore. There's no doubt that the frequency of these encounters is unusual and the pursuit of a cause-and-effect would be a sensible step. However, first the media and the knee-jerk reactionaries step in, ala Jaws, with beach and dive site closings, hunts for "killer sharks" and government officials concerned with the loss of substantial revenue for the Sinai tourist business. News coverage is laced with a multitude of theories put forth by a cavalcade of experts (as of this writing, there are 11 articles listed in UnderwaterTimes.com alone).

While the Egyptian government has enlisted the services of several shark experts and shark conservationists, including Dr. George Burgess of Florida's International Shark Attack File and Marie Levine of the Shark Research Institute, to investigate these attacks, hopefully, at some point, responsible parties will all collectively take a breath and step back to investigate the situation calmly and dispassionately.

Step One: Understanding the basics
With all the frenzied media proclamations of a shark attack binge taking place, some fundamental facts get sidelined. And while they have been mentioned many times before, it is worthwhile to touch on them one more time.

• Of the 380+ species of shark, there are only a handful that, given the right circumstances, pose any threat to humans.
• Large sharks are apex predators, top-of-the-pyramid hunters, just like "lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh my." And as such, we should not be surprised by their ability to inflict serious or fatal wounds.
• But unlike those land-based predators, sharks do not ever place humans on their menu. The overwhelming majority of shark attacks are the result of mistaken identity.
• Sharks play an absolutely critical role within the marine ecosystem as predators and scavengers. To eliminate sharks either regionally or globally simply for our own sense of personal safety would be total folly and absolutely disastrous for maintaining a healthy ocean environment.
• That the "killer" shark or sharks could be located and caught is utterly ridiculous. It is a totally random exercise, like finding a needle in a haystack, and typically results in innocent sharks getting killed (not that any sharks were guilty in the first place). Realistically, its purpose is to assure the public that steps are being taken to protect their safety - pacification through public relations without any real understanding.

According to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, "Two individual sharks were caught on 2 December, one Mako shark and one Oceanic White Tip shark. Comparing the photographs of the Oceanic White Tip shark responsible for the second attack with the images of the captured Oceanic White Tip shark, it is clear that they don't show the same [shark].”

Step Two: Taking reasonable measures
Initially, Egyptian officials closed the beaches at Sharm el-Sheikh and many of the local dive sites, but by the weekend, all were re-opened. If one considers the topography of the Red Sea and how it impacts shark movements, it becomes apparent that such beach closures would seem perhaps reasonable but ultimately unnecessary.

"The Red Sea is one of a kind. It is narrow and deep and that means that whereas in the Mediterranean, sharks are found only in the middle of the sea, in the Red Sea they can arrive close to the shore. If you go out 50 meters in Eilat [Israel], you are already at a depth of 100 meters, so big sharks can get pretty close to the shore," said Dr. Avi Baranes of Israel's Interuniversity of Institute for Marine Sciences. I can personally attest to the underwater landscape of the Red Sea. It is one of my all-time favorite dive locations and I found that, at many sites, I could reach considerable depth while still quite close to shore.

But if you are a pelagic or open water shark, like the suspected oceanic whitetip shark, then it is unlikely that you will stay long in any one area. Said Dr. Mahmoud Hanafy, a biologist at the Suez Canal University, "[The government] adopted the wrong approach by shutting down the diving sites. It’s nonsense that they shut down a diving site like Ras Nosrani, and allow it in Ras Muhammad. A shark swims hundreds of kilometres a day. Today it can be in Ras Nosrani, tomorrow in Tiran, and after somewhere else. What’s the point of shutting down a site then?”

While calm is slowly being restored by those in charge, they are now beginning to turn to the experts for possible explanations as to the specific causes for the recent attacks and whether there is an overriding reason or issue at work here. There are very well respected shark experts in the region who have been studying the sharks of the Red Sea, Mediterranean, and Arabian Seas for many years. And assistance can be provided by major shark conservation organizations and other researchers globally.

But regardless of the group, it will take some time to ascertain the root causes. As reported in the U.K. Telegraph, "Elke Bojanowksi, a leading researcher on Red Sea sharks, admitted that the international team hastily put together to track the predators down was in possession of very few details. 'No one can honestly say whether it was one shark or more,' she said. 'We are trying to get more information on what happened and why it happened.'"

Step Three: Theories that must be investigated, not sensationalized It seems a reasonable assumption that something has served to increase the number of sharks closer to shore, thereby increasing the odds for shark-human interaction. But to make that determination, the researchers will need to calmly and methodically investigate a wide range of possibilities. In the end, it might be just one or a combination of factors. There are already many opinions and accusations swirling about, being picked up and sensationalized by the media. They range from the results of overfishing, to illegal shark feeding, to the dumping of livestock at sea.

As in many other areas of the world, the Red Sea has felt the impact of overfishing. This can mean a loss of potential prey for many sharks and could alter their behavior, with the sharks coming in closer to shore in search of food. Doing so would increase the likelihood of a shark coming in contact with a snorkeler or swimmer away from the beach. Then the odds of mistaken identity while seeking food begin to soar. However, it doesn't necessarily explain this recent rash of attacks that all took place within a fairly small area - just a three-mile stretch of shoreline.

Illegal shark feeding or chumming could be involved in attracting more sharks, thereby increasing the odds for an encounter. Now first, I need to say that based on my personal and professional experience, I do not subscribe to the notion that feeding sharks makes them associate man with food (as in becoming potential prey) - a theory often used as a rallying cry by shark diving opponents. It hasn't been scientifically proven and, in fact, there is documented research to the contrary.

However, repeated feedings can attract sharks to an area (conversely, when the repetitive feeding stops, the sharks dissipate), and if that area is in close proximity to bathers . . . well, there go those odds again. This is why responsible shark diving operations are always conscious of where their activities take place. They consider location, topography, the species in the area that might be attracted, the intensity or longevity of the feedings, the type of food or bait used, and the proximity of swimmers or bathers.

Researchers and government officials will need to investigate not the activities of legitimate dive operations but some of the local operators or other tourist operators who may not be so conscientious. Quoting an anonymous dive instructor, the U.K. Telegraph reported, “'It is more likely to be the glass-bottomed boats that take tourists out fish spotting for the day. Sharks are easily attracted by being fed.' An instructor working for Ocean College dive centre in Sharm el-Sheikh warned that the less reputable diving schools were using bait to entice oceanic whitetip sharks and impress their clients in a bid to compete with the more established companies."

The last of the current theories involves the dumping of dead livestock in the nearby waters by ships arriving from Australia with sheep and cattle bound for use in November's Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. This would certainly attract sharks and increase the possibility of shark-human interactions, with sharks mistaking a swimmer of snorkeler for a floating carcass.

The Shark Diver blog immediately started investigating when the latest attack was reported and interviewed Jochen Van Lysebettens, manager of the Red Sea Diving College at Sharm el-Sheikh:
SD: So what is happening in Sharm el-Sheikh, what's the word on the street, what are the local dive shops talking about?
JVL: There are rumors, Chinese whispers, of sheep floating in the water.
SD: Sheep in the water? How does a sheep get in the water?
JVL: One instructor from another dive shop says he saw a dead sheep floating in the water a few days before the first attack, could have been transported and fallen into the water. Is it chumming or not, I do not know. But, as I said these are rumors only.

# # #

Once the proverbial shark mania has quieted down, perhaps the researchers will be able to determine a root cause to these recent events and the Egyptian government will take reasonable, measured steps that will address the issues. The one thing that has been clearly proven time and time again throughout the world: the sharks are not at fault. One way or another, mankind has encroached upon their domain, and nature has a way of telling us when we have gone too far.