Sadly, around 1pm today, a German lady was attacked and died of her injuries. The attack took place just north of Naama bay.
I have friends and colleagues who witnessed the body on the shore, but even though we had a boat in the area, I do not at this time know anybody who either saw the shark or witnessed the attack.
The initial conclusion is that it is an attack by the same Oceanic White Tip that caused two of the other incidents. As I have reported earlier, it would appear the third attack on 1 December was an unfortunate co-incidence but actually caused by a different shark - a Longfin Mako.
All diving and watersport activities have been cancelled until further notice. The picture on the latest BBC article is of the Mako that was caught in the shark trap on December 2nd. The longimanus in the photos posted by string is NOT repsonsible for the attack, because it is too small.
At least one tour operator has supsended visits to Sharm. More will probably follow suit.
There is indeed at least one exploratory boat being sent out to search for the shark tomorrow, A number of my colleagues will be on this boat.
Some facts:
- There have now been four shark attacks, not 5 or 8 or 10, and one fatality, today.
- according to eywitness reports, the deceased was just swimming, NOT fish feeding.
- The report in the Danish media posted in my rumour control thread is wrong
- The pictures in the latest BBC report are of a Mako, not Longimanus
- Rumours are rife, most are rubbish
- One hotel manager has been suspended for throwing kitchen waste into the sea, in a genuine, but misguided attempt to pacify the shark because he thought if it had some food, it would stop eating tourists - true!
- the CDWS have not ordered the slaughter of the sharks - in fact they are actively trying to stop it. I know some folks have problems with the organisation (so do I), but there are a lot of people involved who actually really believe in what they are doing, not simply trying to make money. My source is one of them.
I expect that Sharm will not re-open for water activities until the shark is caught and killed. I personally believe this is the right thing to do - same as a polar bear or a tiger or a grizzly invading human populations. The behaviour of this shark is wrong, and without some sort of vulcan mind-meld we will never know what caused it but speculative reasons include overfishing, fish-feeding and yes, a bunch of dead sheep were thrown overboard from a container shop a month or so ago. Sometimes, animals go crazy just like people do.
I will do my best to report what I know to be true. I would ask others not to accept as fact what is being sensationalized by the media. This is a big problem for those of us that live and work here because our livelihoods are already being threatened.
Thank you,
Safe diving,
C.
I have friends and colleagues who witnessed the body on the shore, but even though we had a boat in the area, I do not at this time know anybody who either saw the shark or witnessed the attack.
The initial conclusion is that it is an attack by the same Oceanic White Tip that caused two of the other incidents. As I have reported earlier, it would appear the third attack on 1 December was an unfortunate co-incidence but actually caused by a different shark - a Longfin Mako.
All diving and watersport activities have been cancelled until further notice. The picture on the latest BBC article is of the Mako that was caught in the shark trap on December 2nd. The longimanus in the photos posted by string is NOT repsonsible for the attack, because it is too small.
At least one tour operator has supsended visits to Sharm. More will probably follow suit.
There is indeed at least one exploratory boat being sent out to search for the shark tomorrow, A number of my colleagues will be on this boat.
Some facts:
- There have now been four shark attacks, not 5 or 8 or 10, and one fatality, today.
- according to eywitness reports, the deceased was just swimming, NOT fish feeding.
- The report in the Danish media posted in my rumour control thread is wrong
- The pictures in the latest BBC report are of a Mako, not Longimanus
- Rumours are rife, most are rubbish
- One hotel manager has been suspended for throwing kitchen waste into the sea, in a genuine, but misguided attempt to pacify the shark because he thought if it had some food, it would stop eating tourists - true!
- the CDWS have not ordered the slaughter of the sharks - in fact they are actively trying to stop it. I know some folks have problems with the organisation (so do I), but there are a lot of people involved who actually really believe in what they are doing, not simply trying to make money. My source is one of them.
I expect that Sharm will not re-open for water activities until the shark is caught and killed. I personally believe this is the right thing to do - same as a polar bear or a tiger or a grizzly invading human populations. The behaviour of this shark is wrong, and without some sort of vulcan mind-meld we will never know what caused it but speculative reasons include overfishing, fish-feeding and yes, a bunch of dead sheep were thrown overboard from a container shop a month or so ago. Sometimes, animals go crazy just like people do.
I will do my best to report what I know to be true. I would ask others not to accept as fact what is being sensationalized by the media. This is a big problem for those of us that live and work here because our livelihoods are already being threatened.
Thank you,
Safe diving,
C.