The following story will expose the cruel reality of shark killings through the eyes of an underwater photographer.

Most of us have heard of shark fin soup. Sadly, the excessive consumption of this traditional dish from the Far East has become a worldwide problem these days and shark fishing is already present in almost all of the world’s seas. I have had the “opportunity” to meet some of these fishermen personally.

Every year in October and November longimanus appear near the reef of Elphinstone. I really like them, they are probably my favourite sharks. They awe me with their curiosity and impossibly long fins. In October of 2008 we were on a diving safari here and I was diving, looking for them when they suddenly appeared above the South plateau in waters a few metres deep. I spent a whole day with them and I was able to count six different species.

Two days later I travelled to Marsa Shagra which lies right across from Elphinstone, so we were able to sail to the reef every day. I anticipated and waited to experience the same encounters as in the past years but I was saddened because the news that awaited me were crushing: My “friends” were killed by fishermen. I could not believe my ears. During these two weeks, I was only able to observe two young specimens.

Later I travelled to Sudan and when the first night I was talking to dive guides about what had happened in Egypt, they sadly told me that two Yemeni fishing boats had been seized a few weeks earlier and they were filled with hundreds of shark fins! Understandably we were not too happy to sail out the following day.

A few days later I made a discovery dive at a reef where we usually do not dive. To my astonishment, I found a rope hundreds of metres long onto which wires were fixed with metre-long hooks, especially made for sharks. It took us hours to remove the trap. Some days later we met fishermen at sea who approached our boat to chat and to sell fish and as usual, we welcomed them with cold drinks.

Suddenly several things caught my eye. There were triangular shaped tools hanging from a rod and I saw the skeletal remains of a jaw on the roof. I asked to see it. It was of a tiger shark! It was easy to recognise the young specimen from the backward bent and triangular shaped teeth. The shark was about two – two and a half metres long, probably not yet mature. It was caught two weeks earlier nearby. I became terribly sad. I was not willing to make any photos and this time, there were no cold welcome drinks.

Some months passed and I travelled to the farthest point of Indonesia. At the end of the diving safari tour, we anchored at an island, far from civilisation. As I was walking on the beach, I discovered the maimed remains of a metre-long reef shark on a log, starting to decompose. I did not think the residents of the little village were cooking up shark fin soup every night!

Seeing this atrocity, I asked myself: Has the demand for shark fins reached even some of the world’s most remote and isolated areas? So it seems…

We were walking inside the airport in Jakarta when one of the stores caught my attention. At first I thought I was mistaken: There was a complete shark fins store at the airport! There were fins from small reef sharks to giant whale sharks, from a couple of dollars to thousands of dollars in price. Shark fin powder, fish meat in all kinds of form… It was all very heart-wrenching. Who would take home such presents from Indonesia…?

Millions of sharks are killed every year for their fins. They are caught and while still alive, their “valuable” fins are chopped off. Then the bodies of the sharks now deemed useless are thrown back into the water where the poor incapacitated sharks face their death at the bottom of the sea.

Where are the environmentalists and other protection agencies who call force-feeding geese for example an act of animal cruelty?! Then what do we call it when predators, that play an important role in the ecological balance of the seas, are slaughtered by humans only to make tasteless soup from them? I personally avoid and even boycott restaurants where they serve shark fin soup and I feel it is not too much to ask of all my fellow divers to do the same. I hope we can stop the killings and save one of the most perfect and for us, underwater photographers, the most amazing creatures in the world – the sharks.

Daniel Selmeczi

My Name is Laszlo and I am from Hungary, I was born in 1970 in Budapest. I was practising photography already back when I was a child, thanks to my stepfather. By the time I was 22, I was making a living from photography as an entrepreneur and 2 years later, as the owner of a Limited Partnership.

I completed my first diving course in 1997 and I continued all the way to the Dive Master level. Then I got more seriously involved in underwater photography with the support of my friend, Gabor Kiss, and right away I was discovered by Submarine Magazine, looking for new talent. Up until 2007 I was using colour slides, then giving in to technological advancement, I also joined the ranks of digital users.

My photos are taken mainly in the Adriatic and the Red Sea but I have also had the chance to visit Indonesia twice. My favourite themes are wide-angle shots with diver silhouettes in the background.

My major accomplishments in Hungary:

2005 – Nature Photographer of the Year
2005, 2007 and 2009 – Overall Winner of Underwater Photography Competition

Laszlo’s photos:

Exploring the Red Sea has been waiting patiently on my “To Dive” list until recently, when it was finally time to live out that dream. I wanted to experience the Red Sea, but without the crowd. Therefore Sudan was the only logical choice.

We decided to start our trip in Cairo with the must see tourist attractions. First, we visited the great pyramids of Giza, the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hilaire and I decided to avoid tourists (as much as humanly possible in such a place) and hired a guide and two camels. We lucked out and were able to take amazing shots of the Sphinx and the pyramids without other people in them. Excitedly we opted to take trips to the other nearby pyramids, explored the catacombs with an archeologist and admired the wealth of the Egyptian Museum.

Additionally we amassed variety souvenir shawls, spices and sculptures at the Khan Al-Khalili, the biggest bazaar in the Middle-East. Thanks to our loyal taxi driver we even tried the traditional local meal: kusherie that contains pasta, garlic, lentils and a variety of secret ingredients.

Without a doubt, the speed and pushiness of the Egyptians took some getting used to. Friends’ tips prior to our trip prevented a lot of headaches. We arrived prepared for the never ending demand for “baksheesh” (tipping) and knew the “bargaining rules” (never should pay more than half of what they ask and never start to bargain for anything that you do no intend to buy.

Four days was the perfect amount of time to explore Cairo. Finally it was time to go to the airport and head to our main destination of this trip: a week long live aboard adventure in Northern Sudan. I have been in the dive industry for about twenty years, but have met only a handful of people who can say they visited this part of the Red Sea.

I would lie if I were to say that it was a breeze to get there. Visiting Sudan requires careful preparation. Getting a visa is not as easy as in most countries. One needs to be invited by a local company. My childhood friend Livia is one of the owners of the Andromeda and she provided the invitation for us. Hilaire shot video while I took photos and wrote articles to showcase the diving in the Red Sea for our fellow Americans. In the U.S. people tend to tense up at the mere mention of the Middle East. We wanted to document reality.

Additionally, prior to our departure we also had to get a yellow fever vaccination so as to be able to visit other countries after being in Sudan.

We were greeted at the Cairo airport by a comprehensive guide who checked in all of our luggage and got our tickets (there were no seat assignments by the way, so arriving early is a must). Luckily we had a group check-in and nobody questioned our excessive pieces of luggage or their weight, so our extra heavy camera equipment got onboard without incurring extra fees.

After a two-hour flight another representative at the Sudan airport greeted us and we were shuttled to our boat, the Andromeda, where everybody fell asleep immediately, given it was 2a.m.

Our dive guide, Mohammed Sanad welcomed us with a big smile the next morning (and every morning). I particularly enjoyed his dive briefings that he so skillfully illustrated on the white easel. Just by listening to his words and following his erasable pen I could vividly picture what we were going to see. He does his job above and beyond what a dive guide briefing calls for.

I have witnessed hundreds, if not thousands of divemasters at work. I myself teach diving for a living. I can count on one hand those dive professionals who can be mentioned in the same category as him. Mohammed is not only extremely knowledgeable about the dive sites and diving in general, but he is one of the most patient and open minded individuals whose mission is to accommodate every diver’s needs and wishes.

The organization of the boat and the flow of schedule enabled 27 divers to submerge four times a day. As far as I understood, the Andromeda is the only vessel in Sudan offering four dives per day: one at sun rise, one after breakfast, one after lunch and a night dive. Thus providing 21 opportunities to be submerged in the underwater world of North Sudan during our weeklong safari. My favorites were the sunrise dives. Awakening to the colorful reefs, exploring ship wrecks and search for sharks is a thrilling way to kick off any day.

Each dive was followed by tasty buffet style meal in the elegant wooden dining area. The variety of the menu would have left even the pickiest eaters satisfied. Artistically decorated vegetables provided a healthy side to spicy chicken wings, cheese puffs and unique lasagna dishes.

Soups were incredibly popular during chillier evenings, but desserts disappeared within moments every night. We never had the same food twice. The chef provided us a true gourmet experience. I was looking forward to the dining experience every day almost as much as the diving.

Sudan provides a colorful heaven for photographers and videographers. The subjects to shoot are endless. Making decisions can be tormenting. I was swapping back and forth between my wide angle and macro lenses to establish overall story telling pictures and provide detailed close up images of the environment.

On numerous dives we opted to drop deep in search of schools of hammerheads. To be honest, I did not get any good shots of them. Even when they graced us with their presence, they were too deep. I did not get as wrapped up with the hammerhead search as some others on our boat, because I was more excited about the historical importance of Sudan, in particular: the Umbria.

We did three 70-minute dives on this historic wreck and saw something different every time. Our first encounter was a night dive establishing a mysterious and grand atmosphere. It is an amazing dive –giving opportunity to explore this enormous ship and its treasures for a relatively long time as it does not lie in great depth (unlike most other historical wrecks.) The top deck almost breaks the surface and the deepest point is about 30m/100ft.

Mohammad toured us around the interiors after he shared the cool story behind the sinking of the vessel. Although expected to enter the war any day (1940), Italy was still technically neutral and there was only so much the Royal Navy could do to delay the vessel before her precious cargo reached Italian forces in Africa. On the evening of June 10th, Captain Muiesan was listening to his radio and became the only man on board to be aware that Italy had formally declared War. Under the very noses of the British Navy, he then succeeded in scuttling his ship. After the War, a British team of Bomb-Disposal experts reported that, in the event of an explosion, half of Port Sudan was likely to disappear.

We picked up (and of course put back) Italian tiles, saw two enormous pizza ovens in the bakery. Thousands of wine bottles were scattered everywhere while bullets and some 360,000 bombs were lined up in a very organized manner. Italians do even war in style. My favorite view was the three coral covered old school Fiat automobiles providing a home to hundreds of glossy fish. The sunlit corridors the next morning provided perfect photo ops. We lucked out again.

I truly felt I was on vacation from my dive instructor job while I was diving from the Andromeda. It is a brand new vessel equipped with all the modern life luxuries that you could ask for. Relaxation is instantly established the moment one steps inside the moody Arabic style Shisha Room. The hand made burgundy carpet matches the see through curtains and compliments the detailed woodwork that composes the cabin. Guests puff cherry and apple flavored tobacco after dinner while smooth jazz plays in the background as divers recall their daily encounters with schools of barracudas or jumping turtles.

I would absolutely recommend the Andromeda to anyone interested in diving the Red Sea. It is an incredible value and it’s crew help make it a trip of a lifetime.

Szilvia Gogh
http://www.miss-scuba.com