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Gulf of Sidra Facts

Gulf of Sidra Facts
The Gulf of Sidra is also known as the Gulf of Sirte, named after the port of Sidra, which is located on Libya's northern coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout history it has also been known as Greater Syrtis or Great Sirte. The Gulf of Sirte has been a major tuna fishing location for several centuries in the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf of Sirte is 110 miles long and 273 miles wide. The city of Sirte was mentioned in the Bible's New Testament and in ancient literature, which often refer to the sandbanks as being dangerous to sailors.
Interesting Gulf of Sidra Facts:
The Gulf of Sidra has a coastline on the northern part of Libya that stretches 310 miles; it is made up of barren dessert.
The Gulf of Sidra creates a boundary between Libya's major populated areas which includes Tripolitania and Cyrenaica.
The Gulf of Sidra covers an area of 22,007 square miles.
During World War II there were two battles in the Gulf of Sidra.
The first battle was called the First Battle of Sirte, which took place between the Royal Navy and Regia Marina in December, 1941.
The second battle was called the Second Battle of Sirte, which took place in March 1942 between the Royal Navy and Regia Marina.
Muammar Gaddafi took power of Libya in 1969 and there were several international incidents in the Gulf of Sirta as a result.
The US military began calling the gulf 'the Gulf of Sidra' because of the oil port of Sidra on the shores of the gulf which was growing in importance.
Muammar Gaddafi claimed much of the Gulf of Sirte in 1973 by drawing a line through the water between Benghazi and the gulf of Misrata. He called it the line of Death and threatened military response if it were crossed.
The Gulf of Sidra has some of the highest water temperatures in the Mediterranean, reaching 88 degrees Fahrenheit in August.
Marine life in the Gulf of Sidra, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, is threatened by overfishing and bycatch (which is the unintended catching of other species when fishing for one species in particular).
The most common turtle in the Mediterranean is the loggerhead turtle.
Rays and sharks are found in the Gulf of Sidra and the Mediterranean, including the probeagle shark, the shortfin mako shark, the Maltese ray, and the giant devil ray.
The rare Mediterranean Monk seal is found in the waters of the Mediterranean, but there are less than 400 believed to still exist in the world.
Whales and dolphins that can be found in the waters of the sea and the gulf include orcas, bottlenose dolphins, sperm whales, and common dolphins.
The coastal regions of the Mediterranean, which includes the Gulf of Sidra, have been contaminated by over 900 species in recent decades. This invasion includes the poisonous pufferfish. The food chain has been negatively affected by the invasion of such species.
Fish found in the Gulf of Sidra include hake, tuna, grouper, and sea bass, among others.


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