CAIRO: International marine biologists and experts on Egypt's Red Sea sharks have joined the government in a sea-wide hunt for sharks allegedly involved in a string of attacks that culminated in a German tourists death on Sunday. The experts were flown into Egypt following Sunday's attack and are part of an international team of conservationists helping the Egyptian government. Ironically, it is the “conservationists” that are helping the government locate and kill sharks. A video was released by the ministry of environment earlier this week showing a captured oceanic whitetip – an endangered species – being captured, killed and shown to cameras. It was not the culprit of the attacks on two separate Russian couples last week. But Egypt says they have killed that shark, a mako. “The bite on one of the victims has been matched with the teeth of the Mako,” said Ahmed el-Edkawy, the deputy secretary general of South Sinai governorate. “We are confident that this shark was responsible for the second incident.” But the scientists in Egypt currently are worried that sharks in the Red Sea may have a “taste” for humans, leading them to worry over what can be done to curtail future attacks. “Our best case scenario was of a single shark that would move out of the area, solving the problem,” Elke Bojanowski, a German expert on Red Sea sharks involved in the international hunt for rogue predators, was quoted by Britain's Telegraph newspaper. “But if there was more than one then we have to look for a trigger that is influencing the sharks' behaviour and it may be impossible to find. “If we don't have a clue what the trigger is then what are we to do?” Three international shark experts from the United States flew into Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday to join the investigation. Egypt is desperate to put the shark attacks behind them, as holiday season for Europeans and Americans is fast approaching. They fear that worries of sharks in the waters could cause tourism to decline. But Egyptian officials eager to show the world the Red Sea is safe, had a South Sinai governorate official jump into the water and dive for about 20 minutes on Tuesday. Emerging 20 minutes later, he pulled his mask to one side and proclaimed: “I saw a lot of beautiful marine life. It was wonderful. Everything is wonderful. This city is a gift from God and I'm sure everything is safe.” When contacted by Bikya Masr, the ministry of environment said “we will not comment on details of how we will protect people from being safe on the beaches and in the water.” That was in response to questions over the number of sharks that could be killed as a result of the campaign. BM
