Omri Omesi, inspector of the marine unit in the Eilat region of the Nature and Parks Authority, toured the Eilat Bay last night (Thursday) and was able to document the pink trigon, a rare species that is hardly seen in this area.
Omesi commented on the incident and said: “Last night on an underwater tour on the north coast of the Gulf of Eilat, I saw three trigons of a species I had not met before, with a smooth body in a pinkish brown shade as they moved together at a depth of five meters in front of the religious beach in Eilat, they were large and impressive, over 100 cm, Swim together in impressive interaction.”
“It is a large and impressive trigon, which belongs to the whip trigon, a trigon whose tail is particularly long. I documented and followed them to see that they were moving freely since in this area of the Gulf of the Sun there is fishing activity with rods from the shore and with nets that endangers the large animals. I understood that this was a rare sighting in the Gulf of Eilat. After checking with Adi Barash from the Shark Association in Israel, I was happy to discover and confirm that this is a lesser-known trigon in the Red Sea, known as the pink trigon,” added Omesi.
“Until recently, the trigon was not known at all in the waters of the Gulf, and in recent years there have been a few isolated sightings,” notes Adi Barash. Worldwide, there is very little information about the species and its condition. It is defined as a vulnerable species, because it is common in areas where there is great fishing pressure and mainly fishing directed at bettas (seals). However, in Australia the pink trigon is not defined as endangered, as the fishery is well managed, and devices are used to prevent the fishing of large animals.
Martag stated: “Reports of sightings from Eilat help us learn more about these rare species, and understand their situation in the Red Sea. If you see a wild animal in distress, report it to the hotline of the Nature and Parks Authority 3639*.”
Photo: Omri Omesi, Nature and Parks Authority
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