Archive for Sharm el Sheikh
Learning to Identify Marine Life
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When I was learning to scuba dive many years ago, I remember getting back on the boat after one of the training dives and my instructor was all excited.
“Did you see the Guitar Shark?”
“The what??”
I had never heard of a Guitar Shark. Since then, I’ve logged more than 200 dives and haven’t seen another one so I guess they are pretty rare. Today, I take a camera with me on every single dive and I love nothing more than spending the entire dive trying to take that perfect picture of a little marine creature I haven’t seen before. The display of colours on the coral reefs are spectacular but unless I know the names of what I’ve seen, the experience isn’t complete. Imagine going on safari and telling people you saw a massive grey thing with big ears and a long nose or a big cat with black dots. It wouldn’t seem right, would it?
Massive Grey Things With Big Ears
Back on land, I download the images to my lapt0p and start editing the best pictures. I normally just delete about 60-80% for any number of reasons such as being blurred, bad colours or missing the shot. The best ones are filed away and then I start tracking down the names of the fish in various books. That itself is no mean feat. On my last trip to Bunaken Island, the instructor was also a marine biologist so we spent hours trawling through books to identify more than 250 images but we got there in the end.
I like to think some of my pictures aren’t too bad and I do receive a few compliments. Identifying exactly what I have taken a picture of is sometimes as much of a challenge as getting the shot in the first place. Underwater a reef may seem vast but certain types of fish can usually be found in the same place. If you want to see an Anemonefish (aka Clownfish), you need to find an Anemone. Moray eels are often found hidden in holes in the reef with just their head sticking out. Larger fish such as Tuna will be ‘out in the blue.
Spinecheek Anemonefish
Generally, I take as many pictures as possible. If I know a particular reef, I may well trying to find a specific type of fish. On my next trip to Sharm el Sheikh, I hope to find a Long Nose Hawkfish on one of the large Gorgonian Fans in the Straits of Tiran. They are beautiful little fish but very hard to photograph.
I upload my better pictures to Flickr. I normally create different sets for each trip but I’ve also finally got round to grouping my underwater photos into sets. Hopefully, that will help both myself and others in trying to identifying marine life. I’ve got plenty more pictures to add and with more trips to come. I may even get to see a Guitar Shark.
If you want to browse my underwater photos on Flickr, you’ll find them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbmexplorer/collections/72157628128068434/
Sharm el Sheikh – Do Not Be Deterred Because Of The Recent Shark Attacks
Posted by: | CommentsFor several days in late 2010, the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh was in the spotlight as a number of shark attacks in between Middle Gardens and Ras Nasrani struck fear into travellers. Four travellers were injured and a 5th was killed. It was the first deadly shark attack in Egypt for a year and the 1st in Sharm for 6 years.
As with any shark attack anywhere worldwide, there is mass hysteria. The authorities shut beach locations and diving operations though some holidaymakers still ventured into the ocean. It was not very long before two sharks were caught and exhibited the world as the ones to blame. However, the Oceanic White Tip to blame for one attack was photographed by scuba divers and had different markings in comparison to the one that was captured.
Just as unexpectedly as the attacks started, they ended. Shark gurus had travelled to Sharm from just about all over the globe to try to explain what actually transpired. The behaviour definitely wasn’t natural which means the only real conclusion was that some sort of man-made intervention was to blame.
In more distant parts of the Southern Red Sea, shark feeding really does happen though it is illegal. A much more likely conclusion was that the boat carrying live sheep to Saudi Arabia threw dead livestock into the sea. The busy shipping channels close to the Straits of Tiran aren’t far away from the place where the shark attacks happened.
In reality, the reasons may never be known but things have to be kept in perspective. Though shark attacks are horrific, they are extremely rare. In contrast, three tourist coach crashes in October, November and December took an overall total of 22 lives yet still received relatively little coverage. Gratefully, tourism in Egypt is very strong and it has recovered powerfully in the aftermath of a number of tragedies. Sharm el Sheikh is Egypt’s most well liked holiday destination and will definitely be going strong in 2011.
