Local biologists had to explain the natural phenomenon that frightened tourists in Hurghada. On some beaches of the resort, the color of the Red Sea turned bloody, scaring tourists. However, as experts explain, this is not a «warning symptom» at all, but exactly the opposite.
As Dr. Tamer Kamal, director of the Red Sea Natural Reserves Department, told local media, the reason for the change in the color of the water is the activity of red coral reefs. More precisely — their spawning, the breeding season of coral reefs, which begins in late April and early May every year, has come.
«Millions of mature pink coral eggs are ejected into the water, so the water seems dark red on large parts of the water surface in some places, especially on the beaches of Hurghada, which are rich in coral reefs,» said the biologist. He noted that this change in sea color can only be considered a «good signal» — if the reefs are actively multiplying, so much so that the water changes color — there is reason to hope for further growth of coral reefs, which in turn ensures that the reefs in the Red Sea will not be destroyed and they can be admired by future generations of tourists.
The expert also stressed that coral reefs are extremely important for the biology of the Red Sea, because they are among the most important, rare and endangered marine organisms, which are not allowed to touch, much less destroy. And besides he added that some tourists are not only not scared of the «red» Red Sea, but specially come during the season of «blooming» of corals to see this rare phenomenon.
