La Mode Verte
Environmental Awareness Through Media ProductionsArchive for Sharm el Shakh
Alien Whitetip Shark Rams Fishing Vessel off Cornish Coast
www.guardian.co.uk 13h June 2011
A lifelong Cornish fisherman has claimed that an Oceanic Whitetip shark, a species blamed for many attacks on human beings although one has never been seen in UK waters, rammed his fishing vessel. The Whitetip is generally found in warmer and deeper waters but the fisherman has claimed that it “zigzagged” towards his vessel before slamming into it and raising its head out of the water. The event happened near St Ives, north Cornwall. The 60 year-old denied it was a local shark such as the Porbeagle saying, “I have been fishing in these waters all my life and I have seen all sorts, but I have never had a shark ram my boat,” he said. “This was an aggressive shark. I was in a 16ft [5 metre] boat, but if I had been in a kayak it could have easily had a bite at my legs.” 10 minutes later a further two fisherman reported a similar shark circling their boat. Shark experts have treated the reports with caution. Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Trust, said, “It is always exciting and interesting to get sighting reports of what may be new species to our waters. Elements of the description we have heard are consistent with oceanic whitetips, although to date there have been no confirmed reports of oceanics in UK waters.” Whitetip sharks are the species believed to be behind the attacks at popular seaside resort Sharm el Shakh on the Egyptian Red Sea.
The Latest Theory for the Red Sea Shark Attacks
www.telegraph.co.uk 7th December 2010
The unusually aggressive behavior of a shark in the Egyptian Red Sea has led to four tourists being hospitalised and one dead. Although an officially sanctioned shark hunt caught two sharks, a Mako and an Oceanic Whitetip both of which have been accused as the culprit, general consensus stands that the killer is still at large. The abandonment of another beach yesterday (Monday) due to a siting of shark close to shore testifies to this. Although several theories have been advanced, one that seems to hold the most sway is that sharks are being pushed into shallower waters full of people due to overfishing. It has been suggested though that the guilty shark may be suffering from a damaged sensory system that renders it unable to tell the difference between fish and people. The theory was out forward by Aviv Levy, curator of the Red Sea observatory in Eilat, Israel, in an interview with the Times newspaper. “Most sharks take one bite and that’s it. Normally after the first bite they run away. This guy went on and bit somebody else. I’ve never heard of that. It is several years’ worth of shark attacks in a few days. I’d say it’s one shark. Maybe something in its sensory system changed and it has problems [distinguishing] between humans and injured fish.”
Why Have the Red Sea Sharks Developed a Taste for Human Flesh?
www.telegraph.co.uk 5th December 2010
The recent shark attacks on the Egyptian Red Sea have been so ferocious in nature that experts are at a loss to explain them. Five attacks have been recorded with four Russian tourists injured and one 70 year old German woman dead. The accused is at least Oceanic Whitetip shark, described the famous French marine biologist Jacques Cousteau as “the most dangerous of all sharks”. Conservationists and Marine Biologists tend to portray sharks as misunderstood creatures with little appetite for human flesh. Where a shark does attack a person, the experts claim that it is a case of mistaken identity rather than a deliberate, “Jaws” style, action. But even the experts do not seem to be able to offer an explanation to the events off the popular Egyptian holiday resort of Sharm el Shakh. “In all my years reading about shark attacks and writing about them you never hear about sharks biting more than one person,” said Samuel Gruber, an expert on sharks at Miami’s Bimini Biological Field Station. “Then for it to happen [again] the next day is almost like a Jaws scenario.” Following the attack on the four Russian tourists, who suffered a selection of lost limbs and grizzly cuts to their legs, Egyptian authorities closed the beaches and ordered a shark hunt. Two sharks, a Whitetip and a Mako, were caught and declared the culprits. The beaches were then reopened only got a snorkeling German pensioner to die shortly after. Three theories are circulating as to the reason for these disturbing series of events. The first is that overfishing is driving sharks closer to the shore for prey. The second blames Egyptian tour guides for attracting the sharks near people by throwing offle overboard. The final, and most bizarre, explanation cites sheep that had died on their journey from Australia. Being of little use to the crew they were simply thrown overboard and thereby attracted an abnormal amount of sharks to the area.
Yet Another Shark Attack in Sharm el Shakh, German Woman Killed
www.skynews.com 5th December 2010
Quoted from source:
‘A German tourist has been killed by a shark off Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It is the third such attack in the same waters in a week. One of the victims, a swimmer, had an arm bitten off while another lost a foot. Two sharks were caught – an oceanic whitetip and a mako – earlier this week and the beaches were reopened by officials. However, experts had warned that there was at least one shark still at large. Officials have confirmed that a German woman tourist has now been mauled and killed while snorkelling in Naama Bay. Mohammed Salem, director of South Sinai Conservation, said she died a day after Sharm el-Sheikh reopened its beaches. “There has been a death unfortunately. She was a German lady. We have taken everyone out of the water,” he said. The previous victims were Russians and a Ukrainian. The resort’s mayor, Gamal al-Mahdi, said the beaches had initially been reopened after authorities determined there was no further threat off the coast. Up to four million tourists – including many Britons – visit the Red Sea coast every year.’
Same Shark Attacks Four Tourists in Red Sea
www.skynews.com 2nd December 2010
An oceanic whitetip shark has attacked four Russian tourists in the Red Sea near the popular resort of Sharm el Sheikh. Two of the tourists lost arms to the attack and the other two suffered serious wounds to both legs and arms. All four have been to flown to Cairo for medical treatment but are still in critical condition. An Egyptian diving instructor Hassan Salem, who was training the second couple to be attacked, almost fell victim himself but managed to scare the shark away by blowing bubbles in its face. The whitetip then went on to savage the couple nearby. The attacks are unusual though as oceanic whitetips are pelagic sharks, i.e.: they do not feed near the sea floor, and therefore do not usually frequent beach areas. They are a particularly threat to shipwreck and airplane crash survivors. Although attacks to humans are mainly attributed to Tiger, Great White, and Bull sharks, it is thought the whitetip is one of the most deadly but most of its actions go unrecorded. The Egyptian authorities are now hunting the shark and have warned tourists to stay out of the water.
