SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Experts in Egypt investigating an unusual series of shark attacks at one of the world’s top diving destinations recommended on Monday strict fines for feeding fish and dumping carcasses in the sea.
South Sinai Governor Mohammed Shousha said Egyptian and foreign scientists also suggested building observation towers on the beach and running naval patrols to alert tourists against future shark attacks.
Last week a shark killed a 70-year-old German tourist while she was snorkeling, just a few days after sharks mauled three Russians and one Ukrainian tourist, sparking a closure of the beaches at Sharm El-Sheikh, an international holiday destination.
In their report, the experts — including George Burgess of the Florida Program for Shark Research — said the tourists feeding the fish and some livestock traders tossing carcasses into the coastal waters was the root cause of the sharks’ sudden interest in human flesh.
A decline in the quantities of fish that the sharks were accustomed to eating — due to both overfishing and the warming of the waters from climate change — were also cited as possible factors behind the deadly spate of attacks.
Shousha admitted that the rush to reopen the beaches after a couple sharks were caught last week was a mistake. It wasn’t until after swimmers returned to the waters that the German woman was killed.
“I must say we were wrong at the beginning,” Shousha said, acknowledging that the two sharks caught were probably not involved in the attack. Beaches were immediately closed again following the last fatal attack.
Beaches should only be reopened after a system of patrols and observation towers are put into place, according to experts.
They also recommended imposing strict fines on boat owners and tourists who dump bait into the water to attract fish for divers, relying on hotels and dive centers to educate visitors.
The governor added that past shark incidents can also be tied to the dumping of animal carcasses into the coastal waters.
The boat accused of sparking the latest incident by dumping dead sheep into the water has been fined $200,000, the governor added.
The resort, located at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula, has been booming since the 1980s. There are approximately 100 hotels, long stretches of sandy white beaches, desert safari excursions, and a vibrant night life.
Beach tourism is believed to contribute about 66 percent of Egypt’s total income from tourism, which is expected to reach $12.3 billion by the end of the current fiscal year in June, Tourism Minister Zohair Garanah was quoted as saying in state-owned Al-Gomhuria daily.
