Whale Shark Recorded in Hurghada's Giftun Area, With Guidance to Keep Three Metres Ahead and Four Behind

A whale shark has been recorded in the Giftun area off Hurghada, between Magawish and Abu Ramada, during one of the marine patrols that monitor and protect marine life, the Egyptian outlet Sada El Balad reports. Divers and fishermen know the animal as "Bahloul". The report does not say on what date the sighting was made.

Whale sharks feed by filtering plankton and small organisms out of the water, and the outlet describes them as peaceful animals that pose no natural danger to people. Dr Ahmed Wahballah, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences, said it is the largest known fish species in the world, reaching about 12 metres in length and sometimes more than 20 tonnes. Size does not make a close approach harmless, he said, for the people or for the animal: chasing it with boats, trying to touch it, or blocking its path for a close photograph all run against responsible conduct around marine wildlife.

How to behave around it

Guidance that Sada El Balad attributes to the Red Sea Protectorates, together with the instructions set out in its report, is that people in the water and on boats should:

• not touch the animal, chase it or hem it in with boats
• not swim in front of it or cut across its path
• avoid using flash, and avoid movements that may disturb it
• keep at least three metres from the front of the fish and four metres behind it
• follow the instructions of marine protectorate officials and dive centres
• avoid crowding around it or trying to keep it in one place

The message for people working in marine tourism, the report says, is that a trip is not measured by how close the camera gets, but by whether a visitor can watch the animal without changing the way it behaves.

Not yet evidence of a permanent habitat

Whale sharks have been recorded at several points along the Red Sea, among them Hurghada, Safaga and Marsa Alam, which gives researchers a chance to collect information on their movements and on the conditions in which they appear. Wahballah said those repeated sightings deserve study, but on their own are not enough to conclude that the area has become a permanent home for the species: that would need sustained scientific data on movement patterns and the seasons in which the animals turn up.

Dr Mahmoud Dar, former director of the Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries in Hurghada, said the whale shark matters beyond the admiration of divers, because its presence points to the richness of Red Sea biodiversity and strengthens the case for protecting the ecosystems marine life depends on. Protection, he said, does not stop at banning fishing or direct harm: it also means limiting pollution, preserving the animal's natural environment, and spreading awareness among people working in marine activities, among tourists and among divers. Climate change and the pressures on marine ecosystems, he added, call for continued monitoring and for cooperation between researchers, the responsible authorities and dive centres.

The ecotourism question

The tourism expert Essam Ali said watching a whale shark is an opportunity to build up ecotourism on the Red Sea, but places a direct responsibility on trip organisers and dive centres to deliver a safe experience based on briefing and compliance rather than on pursuing marine animals or approaching them too closely. That includes training marine guides in how to handle sensitive species, briefing tourists before trips begin, encouraging divers to document and report what they see so that scientific research can use it, and applying the rules that regulate marine activities.