Pollution, fishing and recreational boat trips all represent possible causes for the recent spate of shark attacks off the southern coast of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, according to Suez Canal University oceanography professor Magdy Elwani.
Elwani said that changes in the traditional behavior of sharks may have been caused by chemicals dumped in the water near the Red Sea resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh, in reference to press reports about possible Israeli involvement in the recent phenomenon.
“The shark that killed a German tourist earlier this week was an oceanic white-tip shark,” the professor explained. “It's one of 25 recorded kinds of shark known to inhabit the Red Sea.”
“This type of shark is two to four meters long, and feeds on the fish that eat the food waste that is thrown into the water,” he added. “It swims close to the shore, but isn't dangerous in deep water.”
He went on to point out that the International Union for the Protection of Endangered Species had classified the oceanic white-tip shark as an endangered species.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
