Egypt's Red Sea parks: the protectorates, the diving chamber and the moorings.

The law behind the parks

Egypt declares its protected areas under Law No. 102 of 1983 concerning Natural Protectorates. The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), through its Nature Conservation Sector, publishes a table of every protectorate with the Prime Minister's decree that declared it; the version we used is dated July 2026. Wikipedia (secondary) explains that under the law the Prime Minister designates each protectorate by decree, and the decree sets the area's limits and management principles.

One source gives a different year for the law. The conservation group HEPCA's "about us" page refers to Law No. 102 of 1982. The EEAA's own table gives 1983, and as the authority's document it is the version used here. We did not retrieve the text of the law itself, so its list of prohibited acts is not described.

The marine protectorates

The EEAA's July 2026 table lists these protectorates on the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba coasts:

All decrees are Prime Minister's decrees. Ras Mohammed is the first protectorate on the EEAA's list. Nabq and Abu Galum lie on the Gulf of Aqaba coast north of Sharm el-Sheikh and Dahab.

Ras Mohammed's area

The figures differ. The EEAA's 2026 table gives 778.2 square kilometres. An older EEAA list and Wikipedia give 850 square kilometres under the same decrees. We could not establish why the figure changed.

The Chamber of Diving and Watersports

The Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS) publishes rules for diving operations in Egypt. CDWS states it was created on 17 April 2007, and it was set up under Egypt's Ministry of Tourism to raise service quality and safety and to protect the Red Sea.

The 2009 depth policy

CDWS published a policy on depth limitations, version 6, in May 2009. It is recorded here as that body's published policy for operations in Egypt, not as a general rule. It is from 2009, and our research did not find any later CDWS rules, so it may have been replaced. In summary, the policy:

• requires all diving operations to comply with ISO 24803:2007 / EN 14467:2004, the standard for recreational diving service providers, to get a licence to operate in Egypt;
• applies WRSTC standards to recreational diving, and sets 40 m as the maximum depth on compressed air, where the divers' training and experience allow it;
• limits enriched air diving to an oxygen partial pressure of 1.4 ATA, with a 40 m maximum on a single tank;
• sets maximum depths for technical diving by training level, up to 100 m for advanced (hypoxic) trimix, and says CDWS does not recommend or support deeper recreational technical diving. For anything deeper, the policy places full responsibility on the divers and the dive centre's technical manager, and requires listed documents, including proof of dive insurance to the planned depth, to be approved beforehand.

For the depths training agencies publish for each certification, see depth limits by certification. Dive insurance is described on dive insurance and chambers.

Moorings: HEPCA

A large mooring network is run by HEPCA, the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association. HEPCA is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1992 and registered in 1995. It says it works with the Red Sea Governorate, the EEAA's Natural Protectorates Department and Egypt's national parks on enforcement and on managing offshore islands and reefs.

• Origins. HEPCA traces the mooring effort to a 1988 meeting of dive centre owners concerned about anchor damage, which led to a permanent buoy system. Its first installation was 50 buoys.
• Size. HEPCA reports a network of about 1,400 mooring buoys, of which about 1,300 are for public use.
• Condition. In its June 2026 report, HEPCA said its team inspected 470 buoys at 100 dive sites and found 98 percent of the network operational.

We found no authority text setting a formal ban on anchoring on Red Sea reefs. HEPCA presents its moorings as the alternative to anchoring on the reef.

What HEPCA asks of divers

HEPCA's page asks divers and snorkellers not to touch anything, and not to collect or buy shells or coral. It says breaches in the Red Sea protected areas can be reported to protected-area rangers or to HEPCA. Wider reef conduct guidance is on protecting reefs and marine life.

What we could not confirm

Our research did not retrieve the text of Law No. 102 of 1983, any CDWS rules later than 2009, or current Ras Mohammed rules from the EEAA itself, including its own description of any park fee. Reports of later decrees on fishing in Ras Mohammed and on tracking devices for boats in remote areas came only from secondary sources and could not be confirmed, so they are not described here.