Shark attack, Egypt, Brothers islands

[InTheDrink]

Might be exaggeration but my feeling is currently it’s getting risky.

These have not been my thoughts previously and I could easily be wrong but something seems not right. Too frequent now.

 

[cerich]

y'all know that similar issues were happening in the 70's and 80's in certain other locations and sadly only "resolved" when the sharks were culled to the point of being exceedingly uncommon in those areas.

Hopefully it won't reach that point, especially with the better understanding and respect for the environment. However, I am under no illusions that for the very poor operators/staff in the area that are getting tips for getting divers close are unlikely to stop feeding them and the problem is going to grow. Every new OWT that comes across another that has been conditioned to look at the moored live aboards there as an easy food source that is in hunting/feeding mood will join in. That is simply what they are. More get conditioned by each other than by just the actions of the humans feeding them.

I am not calling for a cull, but unless the current chain is broken (by stop feeding and give the dive site a break so the "resident" OWT population moves on) it's likely to continue

 

[InTheDrink]

y'all know that similar issues were happening in the 70's and 80's in certain other locations and sadly only "resolved" when the sharks were culled to the point of being exceedingly uncommon in those areas.

Hopefully it won't reach that point, especially with the better understanding and respect for the environment. However, I am under no illusions that for the very poor operators/staff in the area that are getting tips for getting divers close are unlikely to stop feeding them and the problem is going to grow. Every new OWT that comes across another that has been conditioned to look at the moored live aboards there as an easy food source that is in hunting/feeding mood will join in. That is simply what they are. More get conditioned by each other than by just the actions of the humans feeding them.

I am not calling for a cull, but unless the current chain is broken (by stop feeding and give the dive site a break so the "resident" OWT population moves on) it's likely to continue

You have more experience than me.

I have always thought diving with these amazing sharks has been a wonder but I am also concerned. No need to be alarmist but something seems to be going on.

I think it’s important to reinforce the fact that most boats operate exceptionally well and don’t **** around. Generally they are commendable and take every measure for diver safety. The operators need to improve tho and put in min standards.

 

[cerich]

You have more experience than me.

I have always thought diving with these amazing sharks has been a wonder but I am also concerned. No need to be alarmist but something seems to be going on.

I think it’s important to reinforce the fact that most boats operate exceptionally well and don’t **** around. Generally they are commendable and take every measure for diver safety. The operators need to improve tho and put in min standards.

it only takes one operator playing stupid to affect all sadly.

But the operators are not the only problem, the divers that want it are as well. I would love to go on a dive that "guarantees" to see xx shark, the problem is that from experience I know the only way to offer said service is to do something to make it so (been there, done that on the operator side). Thankfully my ethics eventually overcame my greed.

 

[scubadada]

Might be exaggeration but my feeling is currently it’s getting risky.

These have not been my thoughts previously and I could easily be wrong but something seems not right. Too frequent now.

The two most recent attacks were at Small Brother, was the attack reported by the OP at Big Brother?

 

[InTheDrink]

it only takes one operator playing stupid to affect all sadly.

But the operators are not the only problem, the divers that want it are as well. I would love to go on a dive that "guarantees" to see xx shark, the problem is that from experience I know the only way to offer said service is to do something to make it so (been there, done that on the operator side). Thankfully my ethics eventually overcame my greed.

Well this isn’t just about greed. It’s also about conservation and I mean that seriously. However the operators need to up their game. Too many novices in the wrong place and like you say it only takes one boat to **** things up. There were 24 boats on Daedalus the other week. Each with ~26 divers and 2 guides. That’s a lot of action to get sharks interested. Flip side is all the incidents happened on Brothers where there were far fewer boats. It’s difficult to make a full analysis of what’s happening but my lowly opinion is that people need to get out of the water there now. It’s end of season anyhow but something significant has changed and I think it would be remiss of me not to share my thoughts. Guides are getting spooked.

 

[InTheDrink]

The two most recent attacks were at Small Brother, was the attack reported by the OP at Big Brother?

First incident was big brother. All other incidents at small brother. Sharks were acting agitated at both. Small brother in particular.

 

[InTheDrink]

Been a long time since I’ve got nervous about sharks. Cull bad idea. Need better experience, waste management and planning.

 

[dmaziuk]

Yes, culling didn’t do any good in Australia. Sharks are important source of income for the locals and we divers would like to continue diving with them. In 2010, there was a short period of witch-hunt after the attacks and it took a lot of negative publicity that I imagine local officials have realized that it is not an option anymore.
Improvement in diver training and behavior, restricting number of boats certain time of the year, additional training and certification of the operators, tighter control of authorities will have more positive impact on the outcome.

Considering that many of the attacks in .au are on surfers (very important part of the income) and swimmers (just part of lifestyle), I don't think diver education's going to help much. All it takes is lost income and screams of bitten voters to outweigh the voices of shark-huggers and the officials will think again.

These particular incidents are far out in the sea where daily boats don't go; Australian incidents are more like Jaws material. There's a bit of a difference.

 

[InTheDrink]

Considering that many of the attacks in .au are on surfers (very important part of the income) and swimmers (just part of lifestyle), I don't think diver education's going to help much. All it takes is lost income and screams of bitten voters to outweigh the voices of shark-huggers and the officials will think again.

These particular incidents are far out in the sea where daily boats don't go; Australian incidents are more like Jaws material. There's a bit of a difference.

Big difference. GWT nibbles don’t tend to end up that well. I’m a total shark hugger. They rarely pose a threat. I’m just concerned this time that something weird is happening and I don’t understand it. Which makes it a little bit more risky.