A committee formed by Environment Ministry and the Red Sea Governor to investigate the shark attack on tourists in the Marsa Alam area revealed that the main reason for such an attack is overfishing and the destruction of the natural fish stock.
“There is strong evidence that this incident is not accidental, and even if this fishing is completely banned, shark attacks will continue to occur for many years, until the natural fish stock is replaced,” the committee explained.
The head of the Committee and Professor of Marine Environment at Suez Canal University, Mahmoud Hanafi, said that the report will be submitted to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Environment, and the Red Sea Governor, to take the necessary steps to implement its recommendations.
The report explained that there are dozens of fishing boats operating inside and outside the Red Sea nature reserves.
It explained that the attack was caused by overfishing, low fish stocks, and swimming in areas characterized by extreme danger, which require strict prohibition and guidance from swimming and diving guides, as there is a group of dolphins in the area of the incident, which provoked the shark to hunt.
According to the report, this resulted in the victim being attacked, yet no part of him was eaten, which indicates that the shark did not like it as food.
However, in the case of the injured person, the attack is likely to be in defense of its territory during feeding.
It stressed that there is strong evidence that this incident was not accidental, as the shark attacked the two victims at least five times, implying it was in a frenzy due to a lack of prey.
The report included recommendations, the most important being to completely separate the Red Sea fishing area from the Gulf of Suez due to its environmental sensitivity and economic importance, and to ban fishing boats and recreational trips in all areas of the Red Sea from Ashrafi Reef in the north to the borders of Egypt and Sudan in the south.
The report also recommended allowing these vessels to operate outside the territorial waters, through joint agreements between Egypt and the Red Sea Basin countries, and expediting the declaration of the Great Fringing Reef as a natural reserve so that all protection activities and the sustainable use of natural resources in the area can be implemented.
