A research team has been assembled to conduct an environmental survey in the Red Sea, off the coast of Marsa Alam, in response to the tragic death of a German tourist from a shark attack.
At Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy's request, Mohamed Salem, chairman of the Central Management of Biodiversity, formed a research team that consists of a number of researchers, trained divers and experts from the Red Sea natural reserves.
The team will submit a report to the minister on the causes of the accident and the results of the survey.
A professor of marine sciences at the University of Suez Canal suggested the team install cameras underwater to monitor sharks in the area where the attack took place. He also insisted the tourist's body be examined to determine the type of the shark that attacked him.
Sharks usually attack because of a change in their behavior, which could be due to poaching, throwing meat in the water which provokes sharks, or the irresponsible actions of swimmers.
President of Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association Amr Ali said the association has also formed a scientific team to conduct a survey and monitor shark activity in the area.
The 52-year-old German tourist was attacked and killed by a shark on Saturday, as he was swimming off the coast of Marsa Alam in the Red Sea.
In 2010, a series of "unprecedented" shark attacks took place in another Red Sea resort, Sharm el-Sheikh. On 1 December, three Russians and one Ukranian tourist were seriously injured and on 5 December a German woman was killed while snorkelling near the shoreline.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
