Some environmental researchers are set to visit Ras Ghareb city Wednesday to conduct a maritime survey concerning the sighting of sharks near Ras Gharib beach in the Red Sea governorate, Dr Ahmed Ghalab, director manager of the Red Sea Protectorate, announced in a statement Tuesday.
Several Twitter and Facebook accounts posted photos of a fierce-looking shark near Ras Ghareb beach, Ghalab added, after dead sheep a from sheep-carrying container appeared on the beach in July.
According to National Geographic out of 375 of identified shark species only about a dozen are considered particularly dangerous. The Three species responsible for the most human attacks are great white, tiger and bull sharks.
The Rescue and (REPS) in Hurgada warned, in a statement made in July, that the any more incidents like the one in July could lead to potentially catastrophic events, as dead sheep could entice sharks to come to shore and possibly assail a tourist.
Dr Hassan al-Tayeb, chairman of REPS, asked Minister of Environment, Khaled Fahmi, to provide a plan that aims to control sheep-carrying containers sailing to Egypt and other countries and impose heavy fines on the containers that throw waste onto Egyptian beaches.
Egypt’s Minister of Environment Khaled Fahmy commented in July on the recent sightings of sharks in the Red Sea, saying that they are known to fisherman as the “Bahloul” – is listed as a peaceful species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Data from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File show sharks kill fewer than 20 people a year, while between 20 and 100 million sharks die each year due to fishing activity.
Edited Translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
