Sharm El Sheikh Shark Attack - rumour control

[Valwood1]

we probably could include normalised data sets for people who get squished by hippos, mauled by their own pet dog, or die on the toilet due to unnecessary straining....

Statistics are a good way of keeping statisticians employed but the reality is often different. I could tell you that there have been (these numbers are purely imaginary) 10 fatal shark attacks in Sharm over 40 years with approximately 15 million tourists. That makes Sharm sound safe really - but of those 15 million, 10 million visited in the last 7 years and 4 attacks happened in the last week. Now it doesn't sound quite so great.
The point is, statistics are meaningless unless other influential factors are taken into account. Statistically, there is unlikely to be a fatal shark attack in Sharm for the next n years, where n is a number greater than 2 - but that does not take into account the prescence of an angry female longimanus with an appetite for people - and she's still in the area. If the beaches are opened too soon, the statistical likelihood of another fatal attack in the next week is approximately 100%.
C.

Underlines added.

Thanks for making this point, and for your factual accounts of the situation there. Statistics really don't mean much under these circumstances. And I cannot imagine that anybody with a functioning brain would go snorkeling or swimming in the area where the attacks occurred. Of course, not everyone has a functioning brain.

 

[oceJANic]

On the other hand, places like Sharm are paying an enormous ecological price for the increasing number of tourists bringing lots of $$$: building zillions of hotels, resorts, roads, restaurants, marine activities of all sorts etc etc take their toll on the environment

So what do we want? We want the pleasure of diving in an environmentally friendly manner in a healthy eco-system. But tourists are needed to keep business up. The more tourists, the higher the ecological price. So we need a balancing factor, an "institution" regulating both sides of the medal:
Enter the shark.


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[bracko]

The photo of the sea turning red with blood looks to me like a reflection of the guy on the pontoon wearing a red t-shirt... THAT is the sort of false impression that sells papers and makes people believe that what they are reading is the truth.

if the picture you refer to is this one

Sharm El Sheik's shark attack victims speak about their ordeals | Mail Online

he's standing too far back, there's no reflection of items infront of him on the water and if you look to the right where the reflection of the other person is, he is standing almost at the edge of the pontoon and his reflection starts at the same point as what appears to be red water.... hence it is unlikely that it's the red shirt due to the angles of light.

it could well be, after all it's not a flat pan lake, but judging by a look and comparing it to other items on the pontoon, it's blood.


if you were there and there was no blood in the water, then I apologise, but on the photo above, the conclusion i come to is that the dude's shirt is unlikely to have made the water red.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

Does anyone have any accurate details of the two additional Shark Attacks that occured in Sharm el Sheikh in 2010 (16th April 2010 and 20th October 2010). These are recorded on the Global Shark Attack File.

 

[Crowley]

The October attack I think is a young girl who was snorkeling at Tower dive site. The story I was told is that the shark - reported as a Longimanus apparently swam up over the reef plate and gave her a "test bite" but she was not severely injured - only small marks. Apparently there is recorded footage of the incident however my friend has yet to come up with the goods. The guy who reported it was, I think, also a witness to the first two recent attacks.

The April attack I have no knowledge of. I found this article from the newspaper that reported the "frenzied attack" but I don't recall ever hearing about it. It may simply never have filtered through the grapevine in my direction, and I bet there are one or two other incidents like this over the years that have also never really made loud noises.

Cheers

C.

 

[Hillmorton Scubie]

Thanks Crowley. This attacklet also in 2010 (looks like Marsa Bareka).
YouTube - Shark Attack in The Red Sea

 

[Crowley]

I also found this one.


There is no actual attack despite the title....

On the one hand, this is an awesome video - two Oceanic white tips in close proximity - on the other, there are like 8 snorkellers in this movie - who have all deliberately jumped into the water to snorkel and flash big cameras at an apex predator. No wonder they bite from time to time, just like the occasional movie star punches a paparazzo.

Can't argue with the beautiful footage though

C.