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Thanks to an underwater robot: a special shark was recorded for the first time in the depths of the Gulf of Eilat - voila! tourism

2023-03-19T15:14:21.827Z


An underwater robot sent by researchers to the depths of the sea of ​​the Gulf of Eilat, recently discovered a guitar shark, as well as corals and other animals that we have not yet known. Watch Walla! tourism


A whale shark in the Gulf of Eilat, March 2023 (Photo: Mark Beznov, Beacon Company and Anbar Dahan, Tel Aviv University)

During surveys conducted by the Nature and Parks Authority together with researchers from Tel Aviv University and by means of an underwater robot from the Beacon company in the mesophotic areas on the southern coast of Eilat, in the depth range between 40 and 150 meters, a guitar shark was observed at a depth of about 80 meters.



"Gitrans are betas from the cartilaginous fish class," says Dr. Assaf Zebuloni, a marine ecologist in the Eilat area of ​​the Nature and Parks Authority. "They are named because of their body structure reminiscent of a guitar - an elongated body where their front part is wide and their back part is similar to that of sharks.

The body colors of the gittarans and their shape are adapted to the sandy bottom areas of the sea, where they browse and find their food (molluscs, worms and crabs and other bottom creatures)



. Supports RTG's initiative to protect the deep and less familiar areas, where you can find special animals such as the Gitrans.



Watch the rare documentation: Dolphins of a deadly species of bluefin in the Gulf of Eilat


Golden tuna was recorded for the first time in the Gulf of Eilat


Watch: Shark and dolphins in Eilat have not been separated for 4 days

Animals and corals found in the depths in the Gulf of Eilat, and discovered as a result of the research (Photo: Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Dr. Assaf Zebuloni)

Lives in deep and less known areas.

A thresher shark recorded this month in the Gulf of Eilat (Photo: Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Mark Bazanov, Beacon Company and Anbar Dahan, Tel Aviv University)

"A privilege reserved mainly for explorers"

According to Dr. Zebuloni, "Very few people today get to visit pristine places that have not been seen by man until now.

This is a privilege reserved mainly for explorers, mountain climbers, daring hikers and astronauts.

Despite the many marine studies that have been done, man visually knows the marine environment in a very superficial way,


especially the shallow areas, within the limits of sports diving (up to a depth of about 30 meters).

Most divers reach this depth and very few go deeper than this limit.

Submarines allow


a person to reach impressive depths, but the cost involved in their purchase and operation is very high.

In contrast,


underwater robots controlled by the sea surface are becoming more available and allow researchers to send


cameras and sampling and measurement devices to areas of the deep sea that have never been observed and studied.



"In the Gulf of Eilat, because of the steep slope that characterizes the geological fault in which it is located (the Dead Sea Rift),


The deep areas are very close to us, a few hundred meters from the shoreline.

Although they are


so close to us, we hardly know them because it is not so easy to reach such depths."

Underwater robots make it possible to send cameras to unexplored areas of the deep sea (photo: Nature and Parks Authority, Dr. Assaf Zevoloni)

Zebuloni: "The deep areas in the Gulf of Eilat are hundreds of meters from the shoreline" (Photo: Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Dr. Assaf Zebuloni)

The personal experience

Zebuloni adds, "As part of my work as an ecologist of the Gulf of Eilat at the Nature and Parks Authority, I was lucky enough to explore the deep areas of the bay. The Nature and Parks Authority invests a lot of effort in reviewing and monitoring the marine environment as well as the areas that are difficult to reach, understanding that these areas can be of great ecological importance


. Since 2021, I have been able to lead dozens of research cruises in which we sent an underwater robot (ROV -


Remotely Operated Vehicle), with the aim of photographing the mesophotic areas along the coast of Eilat.


Some light still reaches these areas, but at a very, very low intensity, and they were studied at a relatively low intensity by


marine researchers. Our main goal was to study them, characterize them ecologically and map them.



"The need for maps arose after we discovered their high ecological value and decided that we were interested in protecting


them and promoting them as a marine nature reserve.

Despite my many years of familiarity with the marine environment in the Gulf of Eilat,


I admit that every time I lower the ROV into the depths of the sea I get excited anew.

The ROV transmits


to the boat a live broadcast of what it is photographing and it can be said that to some extent I am having an experience similar to an astronaut


landing on the moon.

On the way to the deep sea the light slowly fades and at some point it is necessary to turn on


the ROV lights in order to see something.

The encounter with the bottom arouses excitement and curiosity - will we discover


reefs, or a sandy bottom?

Will we meet new creatures we have never seen before?

Will we discover that the


animal species we know from the shallow areas also manage to exist in the depths of the sea?"

  • tourism

Tags

  • Bay of Eilat

  • Animals

  • sharks

Source: walla

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