It is estimated that one shark alone brings about $120,000 from tourism revenue each year. Beginning in June of 2008 the Red Sea Rangers conducted a 6 month study of human impact on sharks at various dive sites in the Red Sea. These sites included Elphinstone Reef, Daedalus Reef, Big Brother Island, Small Brother Island, Zabargad Island, Rocky Island and Habili Ali. In total they spent 194 hours of field study and made 138 dives. 5 different species of shark were encountered in 110 of these dives and a total of 292 specimens were recorded.
“The frequency of encounters in Elphinstone Reef is considerably lower than in the other study areas. Human presence was recorded during almost all the dives: 134 cases on the total of 138 dives, with a presence of a total of 971 boats and 15,601 divers. Both the mean number of divers and the mean number of boats recorded for each dive are higher for Elphinstone Reef than in the other study sites. In Elphinstone Reef the high amount of boats is also widely distributed for the entire area, making it impossible for the sharks to avoid human presence.”
Human Impacts on Presence of Sharks at Diving Sites of the Southern Red Sea, Egypt - Ahmed M. Shawky, Alessandro De Maddalena
There are over 10 shark species that call the Red Sea home.
- Oceanic White Tip Shark
- Hammerhead Shark
- Tiger Shark
- Grey Reef Shark
- Thresher Shark
- Silky Shark
- Nurse Shark
- Black Tip Reef Shark
- White Tip Reef Shark
- Whale Shark
