2005 Mai - Safari Rotes Meer

by Moshira Hassan(Reef Check Europe)

REEF CHECK Safari Red Sea

May 2005

RC Scientist: Moshira Hassan

Host: Sinai Divers, South Sinai, Egypt

A one-week Reef Check Safari was conducted aboard the Ghazala I during May 2005. On Thursday May 11th 13 volunteers boarded the Ghazala I, a famous live-aboard, in Sharm el Sheikh, Sinai, Egypt.

Photo: Sinai Divers

All the divers were enthusiastic, and had booked the trip specifically to be able to learn about Reef Check and to help in obtaining data on the status of the coral reefs.

Seven sites were surveyed. Two of these sites were in southwestern Sinai, in the Gulf of Suez, and had never been surveyed before because they are not readily accessible. The other surveys were conducted in the Gulf of Aqaba and chosen to repeat surveys that had not been repeated recently because of logistic reasons or because they were slightly more difficult in terms of diving skills.

We will let you know more about the outcome of these surveys as soon as the data have been analyzed.

The volunteers had a lot of fun doing some recreational dives, many dives learning about reef ecology, and spending a lot of time doing Reef Check surveys. They all did an excellent job and were dedicated to their work.

Three volunteers are worth mentioning in a bit more detail:

This was the second Reef Check survey in which Melanie has participated and she assures us she will be back again. Congratulations Melanie for finishing high school this year and thank you for taking a whole week off right before your final exams!

Bert was new to Reef Check. Since our Safari he has finished his dive master course, is now working with Sinai Divers, and has participated in another Reef Check survey coordinated by Reef Check Europe and sponsored by Sinai Divers in Dahab!

Georg however made the biggest sacrifice of all; he broke his leg early on during the trip, but insisted on remaining with us. We all hope he joins us on another Reef Check survey, next time without breaking a leg!

 

THANKS

Sinai Divers, our long-term partner in Reef Check, supported the trip. Sinai Divers sponsored all expenses of the scientist and all advertising costs for Reef Check, made a generous donation to Reef Check Europe and thereby forfeited all profit from this trip. Sinai Divers, a regular winner of the award of best dive center in Sinai, has been supporting Reef Check considerably and regularly ever since 1997 in their land based operations in Sharm el Sheikh and in Dahab and now for the first time on their safari boat.

Andy was the dive guide and team leader on this trip, supervising safety of the divers and ensuring smooth running of all operations. His knowledge of the dive sites and the excellent maps and explanations of the dive sites were of particular help.

(Moshira Hassan, long-term team scientist and Reef Check coordinator lead the training and supervised the surveys. Moshira is currently teaching at the American University in Cairo. Her areas of teaching cover various entry-level biology courses, systematics, environmental biology and marine ecology.)

Also see database at www.reefcheck.org/datamanagement