Reem Leila asks whether last week's spate of shark attacks in Sharm El-Sheikh will affect tourism All of Sharm El-Sheikh's beaches were re-closed on 5 December on the orders of Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana. Water sports were also banned for a 72-hour period, which could be renewed if necessary. The closure and ban came after an oceanic white tip shark attacked and killed a 70-year-old German woman while she was snorkelling off Neama Bay beach. It was the fifth shark attack to take place in a week and the first after the reopening the Red Sea resort's beaches following the four earlier attacks. On 30 November an oceanic white tip shark and a mako attacked three tourists who were swimming close to their beach hotels in two separate attacks. On 1 December a Ukrainian tourist was mauled by an oceanic white tip. Two middle-aged Russian tourists, a man and a woman, were attacked while swimming at Ras Nasrani, as was a 70-year-old Russian woman. The victims, all in critical condition, have been flown to Cairo. Sharm El-Sheikh Governor Mohamed Abdel-Fadil Shousha ordered the closure of Sharm El-Sheikh's beaches on 2 and 3 December as a precautionary measure. Director of Sinai Conservation Mohamed Salem says that while Egypt sees one to two fatal shark attacks each year, incidents increase along with the number of tourists in the water. "Early this year a shark attacked a tourist in the water off Marsa Alam," says Salem. There is a possibility that the sharks which attacked tourists "could have been forced into shallower waters in search of food after heavy fishing of deeper water". On 2 December two sharks were caught by a team of 12 marine and environmental specialists. On 4 December beaches re- opened for water sports, swimming, diving and snorkelling. A team of marine experts, says National Institute for Maritime Science Mohamed Sheredeh, are currently combing waters off Sharm El-Sheikh looking for sharks. "The team will also examine the ecological reasons which could have caused the sudden behavioral changes in the sharks." Salem underlines the importance of discovering the cause of the attacks rather than concentrating on finding the sharks involved. "Residues between the teeth of the sharks captured so far have been examined and none contains human remnants," says Salem. Hisham Zaazou, a senior assistant at the Ministry of Tourism, has announced that an international team comprising of shark experts from the US and Australia has been assembled to study the behavioural patterns of sharks in the area. "Surveillance will be conducted for 72 hours in diving areas and 24 hours in swimming and snorkelling areas," said Zaazou. He added that several beaches will remain temporarily closed, with tourists being redirected to alternative beaches in the Ras Mohamed Protectorate, and for the first time Nabq Protectorate has been opened to accommodate tourists. It is too early yet to assess the impact of the attacks on tourist numbers. "As of 5 December," says Zaazou, "there have been no reports of hotel reservations being cancelled, though we will not know of the extent of any possible losses for a week or so." On 5 December, a second team composed of Egyptian and foreign divers and photographers began surveying the popular diving spots of Sharm El-Sheikh, the Ras Mohamed Protectorate and Tiran to collect data to submit to the international experts. Shark attacks are rare in the Red Sea. In 2009 a French tourist was attacked south of Hamata. The incident was investigated by local authorities and diving centres in the area were subsequently accused of shark feeding. "The practice of shark feeding must stop in the Red Sea," says Zaazou. "It disrupts marine ecology and associates man with food in the minds of the sharks."
