Dykkeren

A German lady unfortunatly died after a shark attack at Middle garden. Codolences to the lady’s family.

Therefore CDWS has again suspended diving and all watersport activities in the Sharm area.

Here is the latest press release: From the CDWS site

CDWS statement update Sunday 5 December 22:00

- Diving and all watersports activities suspended in Sharm el Sheikh

- CDWS call in US Shark Experts

CDWS announced this evening that all diving and watersports activities have been suspended along the Sharm El Sheikh coastline tomorrow (Monday 6 December 2010).

The suspension comes following a 4th incident in less than one week involving a shark attack on a tourist. Today’s event took place off the beach in front of the Hyatt hotel, Naama Bay. Unfortunately, the 71 year old German woman did not survive.

Last week, three similar attacks took place involving one Ukranian and two Russian snorkellers. These incidents led to severe injuries, but no loss of life.

CDWS is the regulatory body for diving and watersports in Egypt and would like to emphasise that such attacks are extremely rare and this kind of shark behaviour is causing disbelief amongst the Red Sea diving community.

CDWS has over recent days called upon a number of experts from around the world including Dr Marie Levine (Head of the Shark Research Institute in Princeton), Dr Erich Ritter (a specialist in behavioural ecology), Dr Ralph Collier (Shark Research Committee and author of Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century) and Dr. George H. Burgess (director of the Florida Program for Shark Research) in order to build a team of professionals in the field of shark behaviour.

Dr Burgess is also the director of the Florida Program for Shark Research and the curator of the International Shark Attack File (Florida Museum of National History) and will be the first to arrive in Sharm el Sheikh on Monday evening to join the team here in the resort. Together they will establish the best way to deal with this highly unusual situation and attempt to find the root of its cause.

CDWS chairman Hesham Gabr has called on the organisation’s members to conduct further exploratory dives tomorrow along the Sharm el Sheikh coast in order to report back to the shark experts. He would also like to express his sympathies to the family of today’s victim.

-ends-

For further information from CDWS please contact Laura Coppa by email laura.coppa@cdws.travel

Official Egyptian government spokesman, Mr Ahmed Saleh, Deputy Governor for South Sinai. Tel. +20 10 164 0440

No Comments »

Just got this news, from a friend working as an Instructor in Sharm el Sheikh. It should happened 1.5 hours ago:

Another shark incident….reports of 2 sharks attacking snorklers in Middle Garden today. All boats recalled….not good news….
about an hour ago.

This is very bad news, lets hope the egyptians dont start to hunt every shark in the red sea.

More information here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11922032

At around 14:40 today there has been an artacin at Nabq 30 km north of Sharm as well.

No Comments »

According to this press release

Diving in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt has been suspended today, due to a reported shark attack.

Let’s hope they open it again soon.

They want to try to catch the sharks, and release them again far away from the turists.

Here is the newest info i have found from CDWS:

===================
Press release
1 December 2010

CDWS statement on shark incident in Sharm el Sheikh

Egypt’s Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) has today (1 December) been instructed by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) that all diving and watersports activities are to be suspended in Sharm el Sheikh, with the exception of the Ras Mohammed National Park, following reports of three shark attacks.

Authorities informed the CDWS that three Russian tourists have been attacked in three separate incidents in the last 24 hours in an area north of Naama Bay. The victims, one male and two females, are currently being treated in hospital. One of the injured is reported to be in a critical condition. All were snorkelling at different times of the day on local reefs when the attacks happened. No names have been officially released.

The MoT has instructed all beaches to be closed to the public and all diving and watersports activities to be suspended until the end of the day tomorrow (2 December) across the whole of the Sharm el Sheikh coast, with the exception of the Ras Mohammed National Park.

Officials from the South Sinai National Park have tracked down the shark in question – confirmed to be an adult oceanic white tip shark. The South Sinai National Park, led by head marine biologist Mohammed Salem, is currently attempting to capture the shark with the aim of releasing it back into the wild in a remote area in the Gulf of Suez. The chosen location will be a safe distance from any tourist resorts in the Red Sea.

CDWS is working together with officials and shark experts to determine the causes behind such unusual behaviour, including possible indications of illegal fishing or feeding in the area.

Appealing for calm, CDWS chairman Hesham Gabr underlined the extreme rarity of such an incident, particularly in the Red Sea where around three million people each year enjoy water activities without incident.

Mr Gabr said: ‘We are monitoring the situation very closely and working together with all authorities to ensure the safety of all members and visitors in the Red Sea. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

‘This is an extremely unusual incident. However, with such a frequency of attacks in the last 24 hours, measures have been taken by the MoT to close the sea to give teams working the sufficient time to track down and capture the shark safely.’

Richard Peirce, the chairman of the Shark Trust in the UK, confirmed that such behaviour is extremely unusual and said it was highly likely this may have been provoked by possible illegal fishing in the area.

Mr Pierce said: ‘The Shark Trust understands that the animal thought to be responsible for the attack in Sharm el Sheikh is an oceanic white tip shark. It is probable that the tragic attacks were triggered by a specific activity or event, and the Trust further understands that the Egyptian authorities are carrying out investigations. Attacks on humans by sharks are extremely rare and this species would normally not be found close to shore on bathing beaches. The Trust has been informed that a single animal is thought to be responsible for all three incidents and that attempts are being made to catch the shark.’

Figures from the International Shark File, which has a global database dating back to 1580, show that there have only been nine reports of attacks by oceanic white tip sharks on humans since records began. Of these attacks, five were registered as ‘unprovoked’, three ‘provoked’ and only one fatal.

No Comments »

I have just added a gallery with pictures from my latest trip to Sharm el Sheikh: Gallery

No Comments »

On the 16th of December, Emperor Fraser hits the reef at dunraven.

Gladly nobody was injured.

Read more about it here: www.emperordivers.com

No Comments »