Shark attack, Egypt, Brothers islands

[InTheDrink]

9 at Brothers easily. 24 At Daedalus. Yes clearly ringing the dinner bell but there was in my opinion something else significant at play and I suspect that was food in the water. I’ve said countless times now but their behaviour changed from passive to aggressive nearly immediately on several occasions. Even the shy ones.

 

[InTheDrink]

I did BDE 2 1/2 years ago, probably the nadir of Egyptian tourism. We were the only boat within site at Brothers and there were just 4 boats at Daedalus.

Yeah agreed seems number of boats has really rocketed and think that needs to reduce and whilst difficult think minimum standards for divers needs to be introduced.

But primary thing for me is not having food in the water. They are scavengers, don’t get a lot to eat and will defend any territory they believe might be a good food source.

 

[Christian]

I did BDE 2 1/2 years ago, probably the nadir of Egyptian tourism. We were the only boat within site at Brothers and there were just 4 boats at Daedalus.

Brothers, Deadalus and Rocky were closed during a period in the mid 90’s, opened again in 1999/2000. Went popular again and during the late 00’s not unususl to have 8-10 boats at the same time. A lot less divers after the political instabilty in 2010 and then from around 2015 started to gain popularity and now it’s crazy again. Otoh - RasMo and Sinai sites completely empty. Everyone are at Il Akhawein or Deadalus.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

BROTHERS ISLANDS CLOSED AFTER OCEANIC INCIDENTS - DIVE Magazine

 

[Christian]

9 at Brothers easily. 24 At Daedalus. Yes clearly ringing the dinner bell but there was in my opinion something else significant at play and I suspect that was food in the water. I’ve said countless times now but their behaviour changed from passive to aggressive nearly immediately on several occasions. Even the shy ones.

24 at Deadalus just boggles my mind. That is pure insanity.

 

[InTheDrink]

24 at Deadalus just boggles my mind. That is pure insanity.

Apparently, from speaking to one captain it was 32 the week before. 32 x 26 divers + ~2 guides = nearly 1000 divers in the water typically close to same schedule. That’s a lot of animation.

Strange thing was we went brothers and was relatively quiet with boats (big and small brother). Then did the 10 hour trek to Daedalus and was mental never seem it like that before. Then Elphinstone which is a bit marmite and currents were racing. Back up to Brothers and still not a lot of boats.

So it can’t just be the volume or number of boats at play here. Unless Daedalus is waiting for an accident.

But agree number of boats now is too crazy even from a mooring/wind change perspective. Plus crappy divers flapping to surface and so many zodiacs.

Anyhow I’m relatively sure they’ll be putting stricter procedures in place and hopefully they can enforce them.

 

[InTheDrink]

Not sure if this link will work but this was the BCD incident a couple of weeks ago at brothers. You can see the orientational behavior is not ideal (by the shark)

 

[Gareth J]

One issue to consider.
Flights into Sharm have been significantly reduced, there are still no flights from the UK.

That means all the diving traffic that used to go North, has been displaced. i.e. they are now visiting site much further south, such as the Brothers.

Previously, sites like the Brothers had a low volume of divers visiting them. So, the amount of waste from the boats was lower (both food and toilet). These attract sharks (and excite sharks).
I suspect this has significantly contributed to the sudden spike in attacks.

 

[InTheDrink]

One issue to consider.
Flights into Sharm have been significantly reduced, there are still no flights from the UK.

That means all the diving traffic that used to go North, has been displaced. i.e. they are now visiting site much further south, such as the Brothers.

Previously, sites like the Brothers had a low volume of divers visiting them. So, the amount of waste from the boats was lower (both food and toilet). These attract sharks (and excite sharks).
I suspect this has significantly contributed to the sudden spike in attacks.

That’s an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. Sharm being quiet has probably led to more liveaboards and both that and the increased waste could well be a factor.

Next year is nearly fully booked to from what I hear so hopefully they will improve procedures

 

[InTheDrink]

Just spoke to one of the attack victims (BCD/tank) who shared the whole video with me as well as giving some insight.

Similar conclusions (waste management) but after getting attacked and his BCD badly damaged (and being negatively buoyant) he remained remarkably calm which probably saved his life. Again this was no exploratory bite. Thank god it went for his BC and tank and not his body or there would have been a far worse outcome.

If he’s ok with it I’ll share the video as I think it’s educational.

In the meantime it’s increasingly clear closing Brothers until they know what’s going on is the right decision.