The team of scientists recruited by the Ministry of Tourism to investigate last week's spate of shark attacks near Sharm al-Sheikh is set to conclude their initial report on Sunday. One oceanic white tip shark remains at-large in the area but leading member of the team, Dr. George Burgess, said that does not increase the likelihood of another attack.
“In fact I would go so far to say that it would be a huge waste of money and resources if any money is spent on finding the shark, when it could be put to a lot better use elsewhere,” said Burgess, who is also the director of the International Shark Attack File.
The measures that governorate and ministry of tourism will be advised to take in the report will be “more important than catching any sharks,” he added.
Analysts have criticized South Sinai Governorate and ministry officials for reopening area beaches after two sharks were caught, without confirming their culpability in the attacks or adopting measures to prevent future attacks. One 70-year-old female German tourist was fatally wounded by a shark after the initial reopening.
Burgess, however, believes this scrutiny is unjustified.
“Whenever something like this happens in any country, it’s always the first time," he said. "This isn’t something anyone really knows how to deal with perfectly. I think they did relatively well with what information and resources they had at their disposal.”
After a week of gathering diagnostic data and surveying the area's waters, the report is expected to identify locations of greatest susceptibility to shark attacks.
