Comments on: Egypt’s Red Sea Sharks Face Extinction https://www.greenprophet.com/2012/01/egypts-red-sea-sharks-face-extinction/ Sustainably Driven. Future Ready. Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:34:07 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Bari Gowan https://www.greenprophet.com/2012/01/egypts-red-sea-sharks-face-extinction/#comment-29119 Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:34:07 +0000 http://www.greenprophet.com/?p=62071#comment-29119 THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXTRACT – Taken from an email I sent out to all members of my dive network, having just returned from a trip to St Johns last December:
Apart from the odd patrolling trevally and a few small-ish tuna and big-eye, there’s no ‘game’ fish any more. At all.
Sharks? Mantas? Forget it!!
I spoke with our boat captain (he remembered me from the MV Miss Nouran days, can you believe it!?), and he said that year after year the Yemenis have been caught many times with boatfulls of illegal catch – shark-fins and all. It’s been going on steadily for as long as he’s been at sea.
HEPCA? The Egyptian CDWS?
Nothing’s been achieved.
Since last year’s ‘shark attacks’ and the deaths caused (up around Sharm), there’s been ‘revenge’ shark shootings, trawling and lining, and more tacit allowance of illegal fishing than ever.
Certain ‘high’ officials have been regularly taking fat wads of ‘cash in the back pocket’. And no one bothers anyone.
The supposedly ‘Simply The Best’ itinerary – Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone has become a ‘no sightings’ trip, every time according to the guides I ‘interrogated’. You have to ‘push’ for real info, as everyone seems to be party to a big ‘cover up’ – no one wants to scare off the divers from coming.
And, strangely the diving ‘market’ has changed to work in their favour.
Our boat was composed mainly of Americans (can you believe this, after all these years – they finally arrive in numbers!?), Canadians, Poles, and a smattering of French, Swiss and Brits.
None of the ‘usual suspects’ from way back. No experienced Dutch, Brits or Germans (okay – no Austrians either!).
And hardly anyone with any real diving experience! Mostly all in their first 10 – 150 dives, and – because none of them knew what to expect! – they accept it all as perfectly normal for the Red Sea.
If you try to tell them what you expected, they listen wistfully, and switch off.
It’s become – apart from the depths achieved and the strong currents to contend with – pretty much a ‘namby pamby’ holiday divers trip.
I don’t know about you, but this fact makes me feel terribly sad.

]]> By: Paul Crooks https://www.greenprophet.com/2012/01/egypts-red-sea-sharks-face-extinction/#comment-28379 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:05:11 +0000 http://www.greenprophet.com/?p=62071#comment-28379 If you just read the above and think it’s not a big deal or is not your concern, please educate yourself &/or at least your children here; http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/12/sharks-save-humans/

otherwise head to these 2 then please sign & share them;
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stopsharkgenocideinsharmelsheikh/
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveredseasharks/

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