A live-aboard scientific expedition and adventure in the Red Sea

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1 A live-aboard scientific expedition and adventure in the Red Sea Follow the track of Captain Cousteau February The Cousteau Society and Cousteau Divers invite you to embark on an expedition of a lifetime... A 7 day live-aboard expedition that will depart Port Sudan on February 11 for the mythic reef of Sudan to tag and study Grey reef and Scalloped Hammerhead sharks. Only 2 positions are available and reserved for Cousteau Divers Members, this is a unique opportunity to join a real scientific expedition, to learn about a marine ecosystem and its inhabitants and to contribute to the success of the expedition. Participants will be able to observe and assist the tagging work, dive on the most fabulous reefs of the Red Sea and take part in the Divers Aware of Sharks program. This year we have been able to secure funding to cover the costs of acoustic tags and receivers and the necessary tools to do the tagging work. By paying for your spot you are contributing to the success of this expedition by helping to cover the costs of the expedition boat. By participating in the expedition, you help us to perform this scientific mission. For this reason we have tried to organize the best possible experience at one of the most amazing marine ecosystems in the world. However, you will share in a genuine scientific mission. This is not a holiday trip! The activities, the schedule and the itinerary will thus highly depend on the achievement of the objectives of the mission. We hope you will join us, enjoy this unique experience and help us to support the conservation of the shark and ray species in Sudan.

2 What has already been achieved? Manta ray tagging mission During one month (October November 2012), an expert team of researchers was in the field to conduct state-of-the-art fieldwork in the Dungonab Bay Marine Park and on offshore coral reefs of Sudan. This work focused on the iconic and vulnerable species of Manta ray (Manta spp.) and prepared future missions on shark species. The team successfully tagged and released 22 manta rays (20 acoustic and 6 satellite tags), using for the first time ever in the world internal implantation of acoustic tags and dorsal fin attachments of satellite tags on manta rays. Tagged manta rays will be followed thanks to the acoustic monitor array established during the mission directed by discussions with local fishermen, in Dungonab Bay and Mukkawar Marine Park as well as on all offshore reefs along 130 km of coastline from Sanganeb Atoll Marine National Park to Abington Reef. Satellite tags will allow the scientific team to track manta rays movements on a regional scale and genetic sampling will help to better understand species and population structure. Divers Aware of Sharks program Equipe Cousteau is pursuing the development of a sharks and rays monitoring program in collaboration with the recreational dive industry; the Diver Aware of Sharks program. To date, dive operators in Sudan have been collecting data since December The diver involvement enables daily monitoring of sharks and rays at key sites throughout Sudan waters. Data collected on a regular basis is required to estimate species composition, abundance and variations in composition/abundance on any given reef over time.

3 Specifics The Red Sea in Sudan The Red Sea is one of the most prized dive destinations worldwide. The fascination it receives by divers can be largely explained by the richness and the diversity of sharks and rays that inhabit the Red Sea reefs. However, it remains a region where little research has been undertaken to estimate the population status of key elasmobranch species and knowledge of movement/residency patterns and key aggregations sites is limited. This information is critical for the implementation of effective regional shark and ray management strategies to ensure that the species observed today will also be seen by our future generations. At the present time, it is extremely rare to hear reports that shark and ray populations in a given region are in good health. Sudan remains one of the unique global hotspots on earth where this statement holds true. The architecture of the marine environment, from primary producers through to top predators, is close to pristine condition and biomass. The incredible reefs of Sha ab Rumi famed for the location of Captain Cousteau s Conshelf II experiment and Sanganeb, the only true atoll in the Red Sea, are two examples of the outstanding beauty and biodiversity of the Sudanese marine environment. But Sudan's shark and ray populations remain under threat from human impacts and could very quickly follow the way of other regional populations from healthy to endangered in a matter of years. Their conservation and management is therefore of both a regional and a global priority. Long-term objectives of the project The capacity for conservation and sustainable management of shark and ray species is highly dependent on knowledge of their biology and appropriate management techniques as well as on effective management structures in the region. Thus, there is a need to address certain key questions necessary for the formulation of appropriate management strategies and protection of these unique resources. Key questions for managers and conservationists include: What is the population size in Red Sea State waters? Is the population composed mainly by males and/or females, adults, juveniles? Is the population resident throughout the year or on a seasonal basis?

4 Are the observed aggregations associated with productivity (feeding) / mating / cleaning? Are there correlations between population movements and temperature / salinity / productivity, lunar phases? Are there diel movement patterns? What are the requirements for snorkeling/diving guidelines? Day to day Each day participants will take part in fieldwork activities, assist and help scientists following a schedule of fishing, tagging, diving, and daily meals. Main activities you will assist and observe: - Recreational and Science dives - Fishing and shark tagging - Deployment of acoustic monitors - Deployment of underwater fixed camera to conduct video surveys - Fish sampling for food web work The itinerary will be adjusted according to the needs of the scientific work and the achievement of the objectives but the expedition should visit the main hammerhead site Jumna to installing new monitors, Sha ab Ambar a very rich sites for sharks, then potentially Sanganeb and/or Sha ab Rumi. The expedition boat Experienced divers with a keen sense of adventure can embark on our challenging Sudan expedition onboard the MS Elegante, a wooden sailing yatch. Twenty five meters long, the Elegante provide wide comfortable modern equipment for diving, with three electric generators and two air compressors to refill cylinders.

5 Meet the Expedition Team The expedition is lead by two scientists from the University of Windsor (Canada) working in partnership with the Cousteau Society on shark and ray conservation for 5 years, Dr. Hussey and Dr. Steven Kessel. Nigel Hussey - Lead scientist for the shark and ray project My initial research on sharks began in 2001 and was focused on mapping Essential Nursery Habitat of lemon sharks in Bimini, Bahamas. I conducted my PhD on the movement, feeding and trophic ecology of the dusky (Carcharhinus obscurus) and scalloped hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) sharks off southeast Africa based at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Wales. I am currently working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Windsor, Canada in conjunction with the Ocean Tracking Network deriving data on movement and trophic interactions of fish, including sharks to improve management and conservation action plans. I am involved in various shark research and management programmes around the world ranging from the ice lands of the high Arctic to the desert lands surrounding the Red Sea region and including species such as the Greenland shark, scalloped hammerhead shark and the Great white shark. Steven Kessel "My career in marine science began in 2002 when I took an undergraduate placement at the Bimini Biological Field Station, Bahamas where I conducted field research for my undergraduate dissertation on the abundance distribution and habitat association of juvenile lemon shark prey communities. I then began my PhD, based through Cardiff University, UK, in 2005 focused on lemon shark behavior and population dynamics in the Bahamas and U.S Atlantic seaboard. During this time, in 2007 Dr. Nigel Hussey and I participated in a Cousteau Society research cruise to the Red Sea Coast of Sudan. Our purpose on this trip was to conduct an assessment of Sudan s shark populations, which saw the initiation of the Sudan Divers Aware of Sharks program. Additionally at this time, with Cousteau society, we set in to motion the process of obtaining research permits from the Government of Sudan. Following the completion of my PhD in 2009, I began a postdoctoral fellowship, in conjunction with Cardiff University and the Bimini Biological Field Station studying the seasonal activity and distribution of large coastal shark species on the U.S. eastern seaboard. In February 2012 I began my second postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Windsor focused as part of the Arctic component of the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN). Here I am studying the movements, migrations and trophic ecology of Arctic cod, sculpin and Greenland sharks. Following a five year long campaign, we finally received research permits from the Sudanese government, which have seen the initiation of stage one of the Sudan Red Sea Shark and Ray Study in October 2012." Invited scientists from diverse university including the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia as well as local representative of the Wildlife administration in Sudan and students from the Red Sea University will also join the expedition team.

6 WANT TO JOIN THE EXPEDITION? Cousteau Divers Members jump on our last minute opportunity to be part of a Cousteau scientific mission! Only 2 positions available only for Cousteau Divers members! Join us and enjoy a lifetime experience by being a team member together with very experienced marine biologists! Diving, shark tagging, learning about a unique marine ecosystem A 7days live-aboard mission through the mythic reefs of Sudan, only for Cousteau Divers members! The contribution for the week is 1000 Euros (plus 180 visa + taxes) including accommodation, food, and key scientific training by the biologists. You ll have to take care of you own flight and insurance. If you are interested, please fill the following form: Mk9DUzFQU2ppalRBY0Y4TUE6MQ For more information please contact: info@cousteaudivers.org Photo : Camrin Braun