SpotRedSea-Longimanus

[Gerhard Strobel]

Over the past few years, the Egyptian Red Sea has established itself
as THE location worldwide to meet Oceanic Whitetip Sharks under water.
Their presence at various dive sites has led to many unique and
memorable encounters for both snorkellers and divers.

Recent reports of shark aggression, illegal shark baiting and feeding,
and the unfortunate death of a snorkeller in June 2009 in St. Johns,
have raised questions about potential changes in the sharks�
behaviour. Therefore it is increasingly important that we collect any
available information on this shark species and document their
behaviour, residency patterns and migrations paths throughout the
Egyptian Red Sea.

Building on a population study on Carcharhinus longimanus that was
initiated in fall 2004 by Dr. Elke Bojanowski, the Longimanus Project
needs your HELP to collect underwater photographs and/or videos of
Oceanic Whitetip Sharks taken on your safari or daily trips.

This footage will be used to identify individual sharks with the help
of their natural markings; most prominent are those on their first
dorsal fin and the lower tail lobe. Any new shark will be added to the
individual catalogue (including around 500 Oceanics at present), while
the sighting history of familiar animals will be updated.

In order for the footage to be useful, we need to know the dive site,
date, and full name of the photographer(s). Please use the below
folder organization/storage procedure:

Main Folder - dive site - date (e.g.: Daedalus Reef - 15.01.2009)
Sub Folder - full name of photographer: add picture/video files to
folder (in JPG or any other common picture/video format)

If you have photos / video from a second photographer, please add a
second sub folder.

HEPCA will provide CDs/DVDs/memory sticks to store any photographs
and/or videos showing Oceanic Whitetip Sharks, which were taken either
by yourself or the guests on your dive trips. These will be collected
by HEPCA staff or can be returned to the HEPCA office in Hurghada.
Please email or telephone the HEPCA office to arrange this.

If there is any additional information regarding any aspect of your
encounters with the Oceanic Whitetips, please feel free to include it
in the form of written documents or notes stored anywhere on the disk
or memory stick. Please note that we will make NO commercial use of
any of the footage, but will solely use it for scientific and
information purposes.

THANK YOU for your support.

For more information on Oceanic Whitetip Sharks and the Longimanus
Project, please visit www.longimanus.info