Killers in the Water - The New Super Sharks Terrorising The World's Oceans. Sue Blackhall

      The diving professionals in the Red Sea will be called upon in the future to help in monitoring the shark populations in the Egyptian Red Sea. Their experience and ongoing daily activities in the water make them perfect volunteers, who can provide us with a wealth of information.

      One species has already proven to be highly accessible to photo-identification techniques. Over the past 6 years, more than 20,000 underwater photographs of Oceanic Whitetip Sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) have been analysed to create a catalogue that contains more than 500 individuals.

      Greatly advanced tracking devices are being used to monitor the secret life of the shark. Tags that store information on temperature, pressure and light levels can be attached to marine creatures for longer periods of time. They release themselves from the shark at a predetermined time and then transmit the data to satellites passing above. In 2010 a pilot project was launched to fit two Oceanic Whitetip sharks with tags for one and two months respectively during Egypt’s winter season. Said Dr. Elke Bojanowski, who headed up the project: ‘The data gained from these two individuals will provide the first insights into the sharks’ diving behaviour and movement patterns in the Red Sea. These results will help us to design a more extensive future tagging project, ultimately aiming at identifying critical habitat for the species, including major feeding areas, breeding and nursery grounds.’

      THE OCEANIC WHITETIP SHARK

      This shark was nicknamed ‘Lord of the Long Hands’ by famous underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau. Despite being a somewhat sluggish creature, the Oceanic Whitetip is a clever hunter with its pale fins looking like a moving school of fish to its prey, allowing the shark to get close and launch surprise attacks. As we have seen, this shark is not afraid to investigate humans, too.

      Description: White-ish tipped fins, sometimes accompanied by white mottling, with the dorsal (back) fin varying in colour depending on its habitat, e.g. bronze to brown in the Red Sea, greyer in the Indian Ocean and the pale beige of Hawaii. White underside. Has broad, triangular, serrated upper teeth with overlapping bases and narrow-cusped lower teeth with serrated tips. Adult male: 1.72–2m (5.6–6.5ft) Adult female: 1.8–2m (6–6.5ft) These sharks can grow to a maximum of 4m (13ft). Diet: Squid, schools of fish, stingrays, seabirds, turtles, dead marine animals (including whale carcasses) and general ocean animal debris.

      Habitat: Open ocean, coral and rocky reefs, preferring depths of at least 150m (492ft). Found in the following waters: Central Pacific, Tropical Eastern Pacific, North and South Atlantic, Western North Atlantic, Caribbean, Amazonian, Chilean, Argentinean, Eastern North Atlantic/Mediterranean, West African, Southern African, Central South Indian, Madagascan, Arabian, Indian, Southeast Asian, Western Australia, Southeast Australian/New Zealand, Northern Australian, Japanese.

      THE MAKO SHARK

      The Mako is one of the fastest sharks in the ocean, reaching speeds of up to 96.6kph (60mph), and can leap as high as 6m (20ft). It is famous for its amazing displays of power and strength when chasing prey. The Mako doesn’t eat large animals or humans but it doesn’t like humans in its environment, viewing them as a threat.

      Description: There are two kinds of Mako; the more common Short Fin, and the Long Fin. The Short Fin is a sleek, spindle-shaped shark with a long conical shout. It has short pectoral fins and a crescent-shaped tail fin. There is marked countershading on this shark; its dorsal fin a metallic indigo blue, the underbelly white. There is a distinct keel on the caudal (tail) base. Its second dorsal fin is much smaller than the first. The long fin is slimmer and has broader, straight pectoral fins and a moderately long, conical and pointed snout; the pectoral fin is as long as its head (and sometimes longer). Its eyes are large and it has a parabolic shape. Colouring is dark blue or grey-black, with a white belly and dark jaw.

      Short Fin: Has slender and slightly curved teeth with no lateral cusps, which are visible even when the mouth is closed. Long Fin: Large and blade-shaped, with no lateral cusps or serrations. The lower anterior teeth protrude from the jaws and are in line with the shark’s lateral teeth. Size: Can grow to a maximum of 4m (13ft). Diet: Large fish, including tuna, bluefish and swordfish, but smaller species too, such as mackerel, herring, cod, Australian salmon and sea bass. May also feast on other sharks, porpoises and turtles. Habitat: Tropical and temperate offshore waters, preferring to dwell as deep as 150m (492ft). Short Fin: Found in the Western Atlantic, from Argentina and the Gulf of Mexico to off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, and Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean, the Indo-West Pacific, Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific. Rarely seen where the water temperature is less than 16°C (60.8°F). Long Fin: Sighted in the Western and Eastern Atlantic, Western Indian Ocean, Western Pacific, Central Pacific and Eastern Pacific, with reported, unconfirmed sightings in the Mediterranean.

      DWELLERS OF THE DEEP

      The Oceanic Whitetip and Mako sharks that terrorised swimmers and snorkellers are just two of the 30 or so different shark species in the Red Sea. Their presence so close to shore was certainly unique for most of sea’s sharks are rarely seen, although the Oceanic Whitetip is the most likely to be spotted, some preferring to circle waters so deep that even divers will never come across them – hence the investigation into the extreme circumstances which drew the Oceanic Whitetip and Mako into shallow waters and contact with humans. Listed below are just some of the Red Sea sharks:

       Grey Reef shark

       Scalloped Hammerhead

       Blacktip

       Dusky shark

       Spinner shark

       Silky shark

       Tawny Nurse shark

       Pelagic Thresher

       Grey Nurse shark

       Great White

       Sandbar shark

       Tiger shark

       Oceanic Whitetip

       Shortfin Mako

       Blue shark

       Whale shark

       Great Hammerhead

       Spiny Dogfish

       Whitetip Reef shark

       Bramble shark

       Zebra shark

       Coral Catshark

       Whale shark

       Hooktooth shark

       Sliteye shark

       Spottail shark

       Snaggletooth shark

       Bull shark

       Bignose shark

       Bigeye Houndshark

       Arabian Smoothhound

       Sicklefin Weasel.