Rd Sea coral spawning

A group of Egyptian scientists have witnessed and filmed the first account of mass coral spawning in the Red Sea. The event last weekend is considered a scientific breakthrough, as mass coral spawning was previously believed to only occur in tropical locations.

Mass spawning is an event of synchronized reproduction, where coral colonies release their gametes – eggs and sperm – simultaneously in large quantities over a short period of time, in order to maximize chances of fertilization.
The mass release is connected to the moon’s cycles, as it occurs around midnight, once a year, two or three days before or after a full moon. It is believed a combination of the moonlight and gravitational pull stimulates the event.
This event involved the Acropora species, a group of common hard corals. It occurred overnight between the 3 and 4 May, before the full moon on 6 May.
Mahmoud Hanafy, a marine biologist for the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), who was part of the team that filmed the event, said that he has been trying to prove the occurrence of mass spawning in the Red Sea for nine years, despite disbelief from scientists around the world.

“Once a year, overnight, we’d find all the corals in spent [post gamete release] condition, but could never pinpoint the exact moment beforehand,” he said. “This time, we set up a film crew, and went diving every night from 10pm – 2am and we caught it, and have now sent the video it to scientific journals around the world.”

The release caused the sea to become clouded by an unidentified reddish substance, and apparently startled unknowing observers the next morning.
The occurrence of mass coral spawning in the Red Sea has magnificent implications with regards to the restoration and rehabilitation of the sea’s deteriorating coral reefs, as now once a year, scientists can collect large quantities of gametes and use them to breed restorative coral in labs.
It is also expected to encourage dive tourism, as the witnessing of mass coral spawning is, in HEPCA managing director Amr Ali’s words, “a diver’s Disneyland.”

Hurghada Guinness book of records mass dive attempt July 2011

Egypt to host mass-dive record attempt

Just two weeks after a British attempt was announced, an Egyptian group has said that it too will try to break the Guinness world record for the Most People Scuba Diving Simultaneously.

The Egypt Scuba Challenge aims to get 3000 divers into the water off Hurghada on 26 July 2011.

The stunt is being organised by the Egyptian Divers Syndicate in co-operation with the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA).

“We have been looking for a spot that is suitable to hold such a huge amount of divers without any detrimental effect on the environment and have agreed on the outside area of the New Marina in Hurghada,” says HEPCA.

“This location has a large sandy plateau at 12-13m depth, which is capable of holding 3000 divers. There is hardly any marine life there, but plenty of rubbish.

“For this reason we do not only want to break the world record for the largest collective dive, but also the world record for the largest underwater clean-up.”

Local dive centres and travel agents operating to the area have been asked to “support the event and actively promote it”.
The event will “help promote tourism in Egypt and, at the same time, raise environmental awareness”.

Companies interested in supporting or taking part in the event will be provided with "promotional material and ideas".

Individual divers from overseas are also invited to participate.
“If you’d like to be part of the world record attempt and are a qualified diver, start searching for flights to Egypt and we look forward to seeing you here in July,” says HEPCA.

The minimum qualification level required is PADI Open Water Diver.

Enquiries should be sent to urte@hepca.com.

The Egyptians are getting their attempt in before the British one, which takes place in Swanage in late September.

The record stands at 2486 divers, who dived off Indonesia in 2009.
Should the Egyptians surpass this mark, the British dive will need to go one better to ensure that the Egyptian record lasts for just a couple of months this summer.

The organiser of the British event has, like HEPCA, cited 3000 divers as the immersion target. For more on the British attempt, click here.
Link

 Emperor Divers

Scuba Diving in the Red Sea

With its year-round sunshine, the Red Sea is the ideal place to enjoy the sport of scuba diving. The underwater scenery is rich with coral-covered reefs, famous dive sites such as Ras Mohammed and Elphinstone and historic wrecks, including the Thistlegorm.

Here, you'll have the very real opportunity to see exotic marine life in their own environment including turtles, dolphins, soft and hard corals and reef fish of every size, shape and colour.

Emperor Divers

Emperor Divers has provided top quality diving holidays in the Red Sea since 1992. Superior customer care is our ethos and you can relax knowing that all your diving needs will run smoothly and that the instruction from the training arm of Emperor Divers - Emperor Scuba Schools - is second to none.

The Schools include PADI 5 Star CDC (Career Development Centres), which means we are certified by PADI as providing the highest standard of education and professionalism, borne out by the 'PADI Excellence in Dive Centers Award'.
Your hotel choice ranges from the Hilton to the Tropicana chains. Details of each hotel are on the resort pages and whichever Emperor resort you stay in, you're well placed for both the diving and the hotel!

Red Sea Liveaboards

Our extensive fleet of dive boats offer great value and cover all the main routes offering wrecks, reefs, dolphins and sharks! Your dive guides will take you to the best sites and share with you their passion and knowledge - and give some of the most informative dive briefings!
The food on board is great, too! And Emperor's liveaboards range from really comfortable to simply luxurious. Choose to sail from Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada or Marsa Alam.

Emperor Divers

Blue O Two Reef Clean Up Schedule and Prices

’HAYAH’ - Reef Clean-up (Subsidised)

'Not for profit... for the Red Sea!'

      

We are running reef clean-up safari's in support of marine conservation and HEPCA's new 'HAYAH' campaign. 

Hayah' meaning 'Life' in Arabic, is HEPCA's most ambitious environmental project yet, aiming to involve all sections of the Red Sea community to work towards; raising awareness, education and responsibility and active participation. 
 
The 'Hayah' safari follows a North & Ras Mohamed itinerary and focuses on 'problem reefs' in the Northern Red Sea.  
2-3 clean-ups will take place during the week - allowing an opportunity for divers to get involved and make a real contribution to the preservation of this unique ecosystem.

*All dive sites visited are subject to weather conditions and is at the discretion of your dive guides and vessel captain.

Evening seminars on reef conservation will also be conducted by blue o two's expert dive guides.


Blue O Two run these trips at a subsidised price in an attempt to make ecotourism more accesible to the masses - Everyone should be able to afford to help!
 
Guests will experience a week of stunning Red Sea liveaboard diving with the added value of giving something back to the marine environment that they love.


          HAYAH Itinerary info sheet  


Please see our schedules and prices for the next available 'Hayah' reef clean-up safari.  For more information or to book, please call our UK team on 01752 480808. 



Guest Comment from previous 'HAYAH' trip:
"We did the reef clean-up - it was excellent! Shame we did not have more space for rubbish and clean-ups. I really think if every liveaboard had one extra clean-up dive - well imagine how much help it could be!" Helen Fraser.

"The information regarding conservation for the reef was excellent! The idea of subsidised trips was fantastic to make eco-tourism more attainable for divers on a budget. For the less confident diver the opportunity to learn more about diving ethos from the crew and boat guides was amazing and full of encouragement." Abigail Chambers.

"I enjoyed the trip very much, the diving was great. The presentations on coral reefs by Elke and Karin were very interesting, they were both very knowledgeable. The reef clean-up was fun, we amongst other things collected almost a full wardrobe of clothes!" Paul Thomson.

Coral reefs vs Climate change

For most people, the Red Sea's coral reefs are little more than pretty to look at. But for those living near the Red Sea coastline, the reefs are at the very heart of their livelihoods. It is a fragile relationship, one dependent on the reefs’ ability to attract the thousands of tourist and divers who bring their money and enthusiasm to the Red Sea coast each year.
The threat of climate change and the accompanying warmer seas looms large over the reef ecosystems' health and the livelihoods they sustain. More and more people are asking what exactly we can expect to happen to this precious cornerstone of the tourist industry over the next 20 years.

It’s a pertinent question. Tourism pumps an estimated US$7.8 billion into the Egyptian economy each year, providing employment for 12 per cent of
 the national work force.
A significant portion of Egypt's tourism is from the approximately 540,000 divers that visit the Red Sea each year to see its coral. Does climate change mean it’s just a matter of time before these divers cease to have anything to see, anything to lure them to the Red Sea?

In the case of Australia, famous for the Great Barrier Reef, the largest single structure ever built by living organisms, the clock is already ticking. Charlie Veron, former chief scientist of the Australian Institute for Marine Science, was recently quoted in The Times saying that rising water temperatures will leave the Great Barrier Reef virtually unrecognizable within 20 years. “There is no way out, no loopholes,” he said conclusively.

In the Red Sea, however, there is a mystery that continues to baffle marine biologists: its corals are not bleaching, at least not to the degree seen in dying corals elsewhere in the world. Few claim to know the reason behind this. “There are many theories, but no one really knows why,” says Amr Ali, the managing director of the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Agency’s (HEPCA).

Ali suggests that among the likely reasons Red Sea coral isn't bleaching is the sea itself, which is quite warm due to the chain of mountains on either of its coasts. “Red Sea corals have proven resilient to climate change so far partly because they are already adapted to warm waters,” he says, emphasizing that resilience, the ability to spring back to life despite environmental pressures like rising sea temperatures, is key to the survival of the reefs.

According to Ali, this means that ensuring the reefs are managed in a way that sustains their resilience should be the highest priority. “Overfishing, stress from excessive diving, pollution, thoughtless urban planning … all these things increase the likelihood of bleaching,” he says, "And it's these things we need to worry about right now."

One of the more significant, though as yet tentative, measures recently drawn up to help aid reef resilience is the Hurghada Declaration,  a government-approved, though as yet unimplemented, fishing law that practically transforms the entire Red Sea into a no catch zone.

If executed, the law will dramatically reinvigorate the coral reef systems in the Red Sea, as much of its fish stocks are presently depleted--a major cause of stress for the ecosystems that coral reefs are a part of. Ali explains that “the entire Red Sea contributes only 0.5 per cent to total fish catch in Egypt, so banning net fishing here will make no real difference to the agricultural and fishing industry, but it will make a huge difference for the environment and the tourism industry.”

Despite the potential impact of this law, few would conclude that it would be sufficient. Researchers and conservationists highlight the need to tackle this problem from every possible angle. Arguably, one of the most vital of those angles is awareness, specifically among tourist divers and operators, who interact daily with these stressed ecosystems.

A recent study conducted in the Egyptian Red Sea by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, interviewed 150 dive tourists and 35 dive operators.

The study found that 90 per cent of tourist divers stated that they are more likely to choose a dive operation that was “environmentally friendly,” while 60 per cent of dive operators reported that they noticed a lot of “dead looking coral.” Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that, ultimately, there was a notable disparity between dive tourists and operators in terms of awareness, with the former significantly more concerned with the importance of being as eco-friendly as feasibly possible.

For Frederique Morisod, Guest and Ground Services Manager of Blue O Two, one of the larger diving centers in the Red Sea, “lack of awareness among other dive operators is probably only a short-term problem.” Given the increasing demands for eco-friendly diving packages by tourists in recent years, operators who are unable to adapt will simply fall out of the competition.

Blue O Two

Blue O Two is already offering a week long diving safari based around “reef-clean ups.” This dive package, which is called Hayah and is subsidized by HEPCA as part of a larger campaign, emphasizes raising awareness among divers and involves dives dedicated to clearing plastic bags and other debris in and around reefs. Eight of these so-called safaris will be held this winter, each expected to include around 25 divers.



Blue O Two, however, is not alone in its optimism about a more eco-friendly and sustainable diving industry in Egypt. Sharon el-Shoura, manager of Emperor Divers, another of the larger diving centers in Egypt, is hopeful that the worst can be avoided with the right steps, noting the recent ban on plastic bags in the Red Sea Governorate.

Despite increasing concerns about climate change, many dive operators in the Red Sea expect that the next decade will attract more divers than ever before. “As flights get taxed more heavily to help reduce demand and therefore carbon emissions, prices will go up and fewer people in Europe will be able to afford traveling to dive in the Pacific,” says Morisod. “The Red Sea will be a closer, cheaper option--not to mention possibly having the least bleached corals also.”


The Australian study supports this line. In the study, 34 per cent of tourist divers listed “proximity to home” as the most important factor in choosing their destination. “You can see this happening even this year with the economic crisis forcing people to pick cheaper destinations,” notes Morisod.

Ultimately, the signs, in the short-term at least, appear to be positive. The Red Sea’s coral reefs seem to be more resilient than others, and the industry may well continue to grow as more divers flock to its relatively cheaper shores. “But you can never tell,” concludes Ali, “We will do everything we can to sustain the reefs’ resilience, but it’s possible that once climate change really kicks in, it won’t matter just how resilient they may be.”

Link

A compelling documentary: Caring for the Red Sea

HEPCA - Caring for the Red Sea from NOCTILUCA on Vimeo.


Hurghada Environmental Protection Conservation Association (HEPCA) is a misleading name for an NGO working in the field of marine and land conservation.

Though based in Hurghada, this organization is involved in myriad environmental and protective projects stretching in and around the entire Red Sea.

Recently, HEPCA released a free online documentary highlighting the environmental challenges facing the Red Sea and the communities sustained by it, while also surveying the different projects HEPCA has initiated to face these challenges.

In many ways a PR campaign for the organization itself, the documentary also proves to be an eye-opener on just how vulnerable the Red Sea and its dependents are to enviro-political decisions.

Starting with a look at HEPCA’s establishment of the world’s largest mooring system in Egypt and neighboring countries, the 18 minute clip assesses issues raised by illegal fishing, waste management, tourism encroachment, and the need for using science to keep track of the effects of climate change on the Sea’s ecology.
Tantamount among these concerns is ensuring that sustainable choices are made within the tourism sector. In this regard, the documentary is bitingly critical of the Tourism Development Authority, saying: “Blinded by the tourist dollar, it’s marked the entire Red Sea coast for development.”
Similarly, while HEPCA has succeeded in convincing government heads to sign the Hurghada Declaration in June 2009, which bans net fishing in the entire Egyptian Red Sea, the reality reported is that this declaration is far from being implemented and enforced.
Encapsulating the crux of the problem, the narrator says: “Egypt now faces the choice between protecting its natural treasures for future income, or selling out to tourism for short-term gain.”
HEPCA’s Managing Director Amr Ali concludes with: “Caring for the Red Sea is not a luxury anymore. People have to move from the passive status that they are in, to a more active status.”
Ultimately, the documentary is calling for a shift from a phase of raising public awareness on environmental issues and the organizations involved, to a phase of concerted action.
“People have to take action and they have to take it now,” says Ali.

HEPCA

The Red Sea

To anyone standing on its shore and gazing out across its heavenly waters, the Red Sea may seem to be a mislabeling. Its blueness is eternal and anything less red cannot be fantasized. The Red Sea, where the desert meets the ocean, is truly one of the planet’s most exotic and fascinating natural seascape environments. The Red Sea is located between Asia and Africa. 

At its most northerly point forms the Sinai Peninsula and stretches over 1000 miles south to join the Indian Ocean, between Ethiopia and Yemen. 

In the north and west are desert plains, while in the south a mountainous region (2642 meters high), which is part of the mountain range stretching from deep in Saudi Arabia, across the Sinai and then into Nubia of the African continent. 

The Red Sea holds beneath its crystal blue surface an oasis of living creatures, reefs, and coral formation. Its use as a highway between East and West has attracted man since the beginning of time.
 
The Red Sea was created by the movement of plates in the Earth’s surface about 30 million years ago. In that time, the Arab peninsula started to part from Africa along a thin break line which was filled by the ocean’s water. However, "Mother Nature" did not stop there. Twenty million years ago another geological movement started. 

The Arab peninsula which parted from Africa, started to move to the north. That movement struck resistance in Turkey and swung to the east, and another break line was formed. This one stretching all the way from the northern part of Israel, through the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea, and finally through the Gulf of Eilat to Ras Mohamad at the southern point of the Sinai. 

The young age of the Gulf of Eilat is what makes it so deep, 100 meters in Dahab and 1800 meters north of the Straits of Tiran. On the other hand, the old Gulf of Suez is relatively shallow, with a 85 meters maximum depth. The Red Sea is still widening at about one-half inch per year, the rift is the youngest region of continental breakup on the planet, allowing geologists to learn about processes that occurred in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans hundreds of millions of years earlier.
 
Water temperatures in the Red Sea remain unusually constant year round, averaging 22^ C in the summer. Low pressure systems develop in the Sahara Desert and draw hot dry east winds from Asia which cause the temperature to rise frequently along with sand storms. At the same time, lows develop over the Red Sea, bringing moist cold air from the south and creating clouds, haze, and more often rain. The northern land mass is the primary influence over temperature in the gulf, but this decreases to the south the closer you get to open sea. 

The open sea’s cooling effect creates an interesting temperature pattern: maximum summer temperatures are lower in the south while minimum temperatures are higher in the north with the opposite occurring during the winter. In any case, the coldest moth of the year is January and the warmest months are July and August. The Red Sea is notorious among seafarers for its high speed surface winds and aggressively short irregular motion. It may be calm on the inward shore, but journeys to exposed sites like The Brothers islands, a remote off-shore site east of El Quseir, can be perilous and boats have been seen literally to fall apart under the force of the journey.

 
Cargo vessels, oil tankers, fishing boats, and passenger liners all move their trade across this great waterway, but for many, the true enchantment of the Red Sea is hidden just below its surface. There are over 1000 species of invertebrates and around 200 recorded coral types to be found. Moreover, the Red Sea boasts over a thousand species of fish, more species than any other proportional body of water. Not surprisingly, therefore, the Red Sea is considered by many to offer the very best diving available in the marine world. 

The Red Sea attracts divers, photographers, marine scientists, and leisure seekers from all over the world, hoping to experience and explore the incalculable wonders of the colorful, abounding marine life and the Red Sea’s lavish coral reefs. In places, the exceptional living reef stretches way out to sea, forming a elaborate system of caves, lagoons, gardens, and plateaus. Some of these coral summits plunge dramatically thousands of feet to the ocean floor. The Red Sea is not all a delight however, as it has its troubles which you will have to stay away from. 

There is minimal danger from marine animals in the Red Sea, and with a little common sense, even these dangers can be eliminated. Some of the marine animals are dangerous to touch, others dangerous to eat, and some are dangerous to come face to face with. There are fire corals and stinging hydroids which can be extremely painful if accidentally touched as well. 

Snorkeling is a popular way to view the edge of the reef, especially for those with limited confidence in their swimming ability. Sharks, manta rays, turtles, and eels will take pieces of bread from your hand, and brilliantly colored schools of fish team all around in bewildering color. 

However, most divers will tell you that there is nothing to beat the thrill of experiencing the depth of the reef and the abounding marine life to be found in the Red Sea. 

The lure of the reef is such that many novice divers become totally "hooked" and cannot imagine why they have never joined in the fun before. Furthermore, when asked to compare their local diving conditions with those in the Red Sea, they find it a "paradise" with clear visibility, little wave action, and warm temperatures all year long.

 
Fishing is an art which still preserves time-honored methods, mostly due to the difficulties imposed by the dangers of the reef. The hook-and-line method of fishing has been in use for more than four thousand years and is still going strong. Conservation of certain species of fish and the dangers of over-fishing are both important issues for the government. The fisherman land a total of 8,000 metric tons of fish per year, which, although eight times as much as the Sudan, is less than half Egypt’s total catch.

 
The water of the Red Sea is also a vital asset. Surrounding cities are totally dependent on it for household and industrial supplies, and tremendous desalination plants are in operation. These supply drinking water which has been purified to a high standard, as well as non-potable domestic water. Sea water is also used in large quantities by oil refineries and cement works situated along the coastline. The danger of pollution is always present in the Red Sea, particularly from oil spillage. 

A Royal Decree forbids the discharge of any pollutant substances, including oil, within 100 miles of the Saudi Arabian coastline.

 
Currently, the areas of the Eastern Desert and around the Red Sea have received a great deal of overdue attention. A joint expedition from the University of Delaware and Leiden University and Leiden University has been working at the ancient Red Sea port of Berinike. 

The past season the Delaware-Leiden team excavated in two areas, opened a total of seven trenches, and found four public buildings. One of the sites contained offering tables, an incense burner, a stela stand and an almost life-size bronze figure of a cloaked woman clasping a snake. 

Scraps of colorful textile from the Fourth and Fifth centuries A.D. have also been found. In addition, evidence of trade appears in the form of imported coconuts, pepper, and rice. So, while the edges of the Red Sea are being explored, the sea itself is being plunged in a survey of sunken wrecks. The Institute for Nautical Archaeology in Egypt, is continuing the underwater survey started last season, plotting the locations of shipwrecks along the Red Sea coast.

 
For swimmers, divers, traders, industrialists, fishermen, archaeologists, and tourists, the Red Sea has its own kind of incomparability. And even the leisured gazer, speculating the inaccessible blue/red abnormality, can be said to have been given something to think about. The underwater amazement of the Red Sea remains a living tapestry of resounding corals and exotic fish, waiting for you to discover its secrets. 
http://touregypt.net/vdc/AbtRdSea.htm