The community of the Red Sea has once again stood up to protect our environment, livelihood and health. The valiant efforts of fishermen, dive operators, hotels and the local government to control the spill must be commended. The governorate has committed all its resources in manual cleanups at nearly all affected beaches in cooperation with the local community. The cleanup efforts over the past five days have been outstanding, over 90% of the impacted beaches on the mainland have been entirely cleaned, and work is still ongoing. Dive operators have expressed their relief that there is no apparent damage to any dive sites; and that business is back to normal.



The Northern Islands protected area is the most heavily impacted region. These islands are one of the few pristine areas in the northern Egyptian Red Sea, and are of high ecological value as they host a number of key habitats, including mangroves, sea grass beds, protected bird nesting grounds, turtle nesting grounds and an extensive reef system.



The spill was from an oil rig approximately fifty nautical miles north of Hurghada that began to leak on Wednesday the 16th of June; the leak has been sealed.



We are still fervently awaiting the Nature Conservation Sector’s assessment of the damages at as well as a statement declaring the identity of the rig that is visibly spewing out the oil!



The damage to Egypt's natural resources is a crime that must not go unpunished; and the complicity of any party with such a crime must be revealed and condemned. This incident clearly reveals that the oil concessions of the Ministry must be reconsidered especially any concessions near key habitats, protected areas and tourism hot spots.



We must continue to push as a community for the protection of our natural environment we must take a collective stand and clearly state that we shall not allow corruption and greed to destroy our ecosystem, livelihood and health.

Dear all,

We are proud to inform you that the enormous efforts that have been exerted by different agencies to contain the impacts of the oils spill were very successful.

More than 90 percent of the beaches north of Hurghada were cleaned and the manual collection method has proven to be very successful. Most of the hotels and resorts have informed us that their beaches are back to normal.

More efforts are expected regarding the clean up of the northern islands of Um El Luhaimat and Tawila which are located around 30 miles north of Hurghada.

Serious measures have to be taken as soon as possible concerning the oil operations in the north of Hurghada, to prevent similar occurrences to be happening in the future. What the oil industry considers a minor leakage could actually be destructive for both the tourism industry and our natural resources. Red Sea coral reefs and associated ecosystems, which are one of the main assets of the Egyptian natural heritage and sustain a major national industry, are already under considerable stress due to climate change and various other pressure factors, and a major oil spill in the region will have devastating consequences.

The Egyptian Parliament has an ongoing interrogation for both the Ministers of environment and petroleum, who we will definitely see very soon in court.

Hepca would like to thank the Red Sea Governor and all the Red Sea community for their very responsible reaction and efforts.

We are very pleased to announce that thanks to the collaborative efforts of so many members of the Red Sea community; four shark finning boats have been stopped and more than sixty Yemeni fishermen are currently in custody!

On Sunday night two safari boats: Desmondo and Golden Dolphin 3, managed to corner the boats at Zabargad Island until the official authorities arrived to arrest them; this valiant, collaborative effort from members of the community is the key to the protection of our environment and the sustainability of our natural resources.

On Monday, HEPCA’s own RV Red Sea Defender spotted two more Yemeni shark finning vessels 56km offshore of Hamata; within two hours official authorities had apprehended them.
The process of halting these violators was based on the efforts of many, including: a large number of safari boats that first spotted them, reported them and tracked them, boats that ceased their lines and released over a dozen hooked sharks, local boats that collaborated with the authorities to provide their exact locations and the government authorities that actually stopped the boats and arrested ten fishermen; as well as all those who publicized the issue and provided logistic and moral support.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this collaborative endeavor to protect the Red Sea environment. This is the perfect example of how community based management and protection works; as a local population we have proven how working together can potentially save our environment from destruction.

We would especially like to highlight the efforts of two safari boats: Eldabaran and Royal Evolution who pulled over eleven kilometers of hooked lines, that potentially would have killed dozens of sharks. Their brave work uncovered that the fishing vessels were utilizing dolphin and juvenile shark meat as bait!

Shark de-finning and fishing are criminal acts as they potentially can cause drastic changes to the environment, as apex predators, sharks play a key role in regulating populations and maintaining population structure. It is also economically idiotic; a shark fin sells for about EGP200 while the estimated annual income from the tourism industry, of a single shark at Brothers Islands, is EGP 1,250,000 per year.

Shark fishing and de-finning are legal offences, prohibited and punishable by law, in accordance to regulations set by the Governor of the Red Sea and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2006. These regulations were put in place after a long campaign fueled by the Red Sea community’s frustration about the depletion of such a valuable natural resource.

Sadly they have now attracted those who wish to exploit our recovering shark populations; but together as a community we have delivered a very strong message to violators. Our message is clear: we will not allow the destructive exploitation of our natural resources and we shall fight for the protection of the Red Sea.

HEPCA’s Marsa Alam Material Recovery and Recycling Facility (MRF) celebrates the recovery of its 24 millionth water bottle! The energy conserved from the recovery of these bottles is sufficient to power a computer for 25,742,656 hours! We are also proud to announce that we have recovered over 66 million plastic bags and nearly 6.5 million cans. The MRF has been responsible for the recycling of almost one million kilograms of material.

This success has motivated the expansion of the facility. The new plastic recycling plant produces rubbish bags that will soon provide for the entire region covered by our solid waste management system: from Port Ghaleb to Beranice – an area twice the size of the Holland!

Solid waste management is the most recent field of work HEPCA has embarked upon, bringing on several milestone achievements in the conservation of the Red Sea region. By greatly reducing the number of plastic bags that enter the marine world and are responsible for the demise of massive areas of coral reef and marine life, this system has saved an estimated 5000 seabirds and 500 marine mammals.

The benefits of this system for environmental conservation are not limited to the Red Sea alone, but play a small but important role in conservation of other ecosystems as well as in the reduction of greenhouse gases and mitigation against climate change. The paper and cardboard recycled have saved more than 5000 trees. The cans recycled have saved more than 1000 tonnes of coal, and a total of an estimated 2,815,000 litres of gasoline have been saved, therefore also creating a positive impact on the Egyptian economy!

The HEPCA mooring team conducted a rescue mission today in the vicinity of Magaweesh Island. Four tourists aboard a catamaran were lost at sea due to bad weather conditions; they were pushed away from shore by strong winds, and due to bad visibility they were unable to navigate back to shore.

Ayman Barsoum who led the rescue mission, told us on behalf of the team that “We are just glad that the four of them are safe, we hope this won’t discourage them from returning to sea.” He further elaborated, urging that “all operators must take into account bad weather conditions and the safety of their guests before putting them to sea; and must insure proper monitoring and accountability techniques, and have in place a contingency rescue plan.”

The HEPCA team wishes you all an enjoyable and safe summer season.