The HEPCA team headed to Dusseldorf in January for the annual BOOT show, Europe’s largest diving and watersports exhibition. The HEPCA stand was busy throughout the show with many people coming to find out more about the Red Sea and the environmental work being done here.

HEPCA was also delighted to be able to support so many of its members at the event. The Red Sea was represented by over 40 stands and it seemed at times that the entire Red Sea diving business had re-located to Germany! This was a fantastic show of camaraderie for the whole region and ensured the continued message that the Red Sea is one of the world’s top diving and watersports destinations.

Environmentally-conscious HEPCA members also swept the board at the Tauchen Awards for best Red Sea dive centre. James and Mac were honoured in first place, followed by Menadive and Orca Dive Club Safaga. Congratulations to all!

Find more from the BOOT 2008 in our Gallery

Hadaba Road, Hurghada is getting a green makeover courtesy of the Marriott Resort. In coordination with Hurghada City Council, a team of staff from the Marriott is planting a public garden on this busy section of highway leading into Sekalla. It is hoped that this will be the first of many such planting schemes to help beautify the city of Hurghada and make it even more attractive for visitors and residents alike. HEPCA is co-sponsoring this project.

We all know that the amount of rubbish in the Red Sea region is unsightly, unhealthy and unacceptable; but things are being done to help tackle the problem…

One such initiative is the Material Recovery Facility (MRF), now open in Marsa Alam. The Facility is part of HEPCA’s Solid Waste Management Strategy for the Red Sea, undertaken in cooperation with USAID, the EEAA, the National Parks of Egypt and the Association for the Protection of the Environment, and with private donations.

Separated waste items are collected at source and transported in our stunning new trucks to the Facility. Organic waste is passed on to the local community for animal feed. Non-organic waste is sorted, processed and traded through to recycling firms where possible, or otherwise placed into a managed dumpsite for non-recyclables.

Contracts with hotels, dive centres and other tourism establishments in the Marsa Alam region are currently being concluded. The Solid Waste Management Strategy not only focuses on the collection and recycling of waste, but also provides valuable employment opportunities to the local community. A second MRF is due to open in the Hurghada area later this year.

The reefs around Sharm El Sheikh are generally considered to be in great condition but until recently, little attention has been paid to something closer to home – the delicate marine environment that exists under the Naama Bay jetty, one of the busiest diving departure points in the world.

The second episode of a rolling jetty clean up program took place in December, organised by the Red Sea Diving College and under the authority of Dr Mohammed Abdel Rahman, chief marine biologist at the Ras Mohammed National Park.

A large team of volunteers descended below the jetty and managed to fill 52 diving crates with an amazing 2000 discarded glass bottles. If only Coca Cola still gave deposits on returns! Two old car tyres were also brought to the surface amongst a variety of other rubbish, which was all taken away for recycling.

The clean up events have started to make a big impact on the under jetty marine environment but much work remains. The program aims to completely clear the area by the end of 2008 but it will take several more events to complete this project.

Due to the large number of bottles, Red Sea Diving College is currently in discussion with Coca Cola regional representatives to see if they are willing to give their official support to the program. Watch this space for more news on this soon. A big thanks to all those involved.

SS Thistlegorm: Conservation Update
It has been ten weeks since HEPCA’s installation of the new mooring system on the SS Thistlegorm. 32 mooring lines were placed around the wreck in an intensive operation that marked the first phase of conservation work. Air-escape outlets were also drilled into the wreck to help prevent internal damage.
Most diving operators are delighted with the new system but over the test period of the last few weeks it has become apparent that the system could be enhanced further for ease and safety. To this end, a consultative meeting was held on 24th February in Sharm El Sheikh. Managers of several of the larger dive centres, and representatives of the CDWS and SSDM, met with Amr Ali from HEPCA to review the system and discuss possible improvements.
Keeping the existing ropes and fixings on the seabed, it has now been proposed to fix a stopper-system of a shorter line, which will be attached at 45 degrees to the original line and also fixed by a Manta Ray drilling, to reduce the distance the line can move towards the wreck. This system has been affectionately called the ‘Miki System’, named after the Camel dive centre manager, Miki Clark, who designed and proposed it.
Additionally, the ropes will terminate on a buoyed device located below the surface at a depth of around 14m to avoid theft and damage by fishing boats. This will also reduce the risk of DCS for guides and place the job of tying in at depths even shallower than tying onto the old positions on the wreck itself.
During the discussions, many other positives suggestions and solutions were aired including the provision of an external ring of moorings for the larger safari boats whose guests can easily reach the wreck by zodiac. 
It is proposed that the SS Thistlegorm be closed to boats for one week from 6th to 12th March 2008 to enable phase two of the conservation work to take place. Further announcements will be made shortly with news of progress of the plans.
HEPCA thank everyone for your understanding, cooperation and support.

Find out more here

More news from the HEPCA mooring team:

A new mooring system is being put in place at the increasingly popular dive sites in the El Quseir region. A facelift of the existing buoys and a total of 13 new moorings are being installed. Massive thanks to Ducks Quseir for their assistance!

Full maintenance of the Wadi El Gemal National Park and Abu Dabab mooring systems is also happening this month. A big thank you to the staff from Shams Alam and Orca Dive Club Abu Dabab for their help in making this possible.

Over the coming months we are going to spend more time out and about talking to our Members and diving and hotel operators and staff. We want to hear your feedback and for all of us to work more closely together.

In the last few months we have a number of meetings in Safaga and Hurghada. The format of these meetings has been to invite divers, operators, captains and skippers to an open discussion and question and answer session with the HEPCA team.

We are also introducing our new Volunteer Red Sea Ranger Initiative. Each dive centre or organisation nominates a person or persons responsible for noting and reporting any environmental violations, and liaising with HEPCA.

More meetings are planned for the near future. If you would like to take part, become a Volunteer or arrange your own meeting with the HEPCA team please contact us here.

This month HEPCA is delighted to welcome new members Sol Y Mar Resort Abu Dabab and Ducks Diving - Mangrove Bay El Quseir. Thanks for joining HEPCA. We look forward to working with you to develop environmental awareness and activities in these upcoming areas of the Red Sea
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We also bid farewell this month to Ayman Afifi who is leaving the Red Sea National Park Authority. Ayman has worked closely with HEPCA for many years and has always been a strong supporter of our work. We wish him the best for the future.