Cruise and swim with dolphins in Egypt

Community
We work only with Egyptian owned eco – resorts, companies who employ local workers. The boat crews and guides tend to be from fishing families who know the sea and local reefs well. By coming here, you help to provide employment for local people who have would otherwise not have the opportunity to earn good wages in work that allows them to follow their traditional employment on the sea.

Together we are involved with a dolphin research study. This is to monitor the behaviour of the dolphins by collecting data from studying their behaviour. We have arranged for marine biology students to work on this study, hosted by our boat company using photo ID, and documenting patterns of behaviour, especially with regards to the "moods" of the dolphins in order to ascertain the best times to enter the water that will not disturb their rest time. The intention is to use this data to provide a protocol for a low impact effect from the tourists who visit this offshore reef. The study is due to commence in April 2010. There is a long term plan to create a "Dolphin School"

Environment
Our local boat company, crew and guides have an environmentally responsible policy. They act to cause low impact on both the coral reef and the dolphins by educating the swimmers and divers. They have a special anchoring system which does not harm the reef and is a permanent fixture which a crew member has to swim underwater in order to secure the boat. They issue the guests with non plastic bottles which can be refilled and re-used after being cleaned.

The eco dive resort we work with conducted a similar study on another reef which has a lot of tourists. The dolphins were being negatively impacted, so after the study, a zoning protocol was implemented and the number of swimmers and boats in the area is controlled. We plan to provide important information about this other relatively undiscovered group of dolphins on another offshore reef so they can also be protected if tourism increases.

Also there are various conservation initiatives in the area such as at the resort we use; there is an ongoing study on sharks. Through education, "Shark School" and creating a protected marine reserve (HEPCA) the decreasing population of sharks seems to be making a recovery. We give our guests a lot of information with ideas of how they can contribute to the preservation of the reefs and the marine life.

We have also started a campaign called "Tourists Against Trash" (TAT). Every guest is given a bag in which to collect some of the huge amounts of waste plastic littering the desert. They are asked to be very visible and this actually has already encouraged the local Egyptians involved in tourism to clean up the litter which had previously been ignored. They are keen to please the tourists and if the tourists appear to want the plastic bottles removed, they will comply. The tourists are informed of how a flood from the sea into the desert could pollute the ocean dramatically as the build up of plastic is huge.