Abu Dhabi: The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has discovered the first green turtle nest during its yearly turtle survey, which is a component of the marine assessment and conservation program. Despite being widely distributed in Abu Dhabi’s seas, nesting activity has never been documented at one of the main Hawksbill turtle nesting locations in the Al Dhafra Region.
There are seven species of sea turtles in around the world. Abu Dhabi’s seas are home to four different kinds of turtles, total population more than 6,000 individuals. The Hawksbill and Green Turtles are the most common species, while the Olive Ridley and Loggerhead Turtles are thought to be sporadic visits.
“We normally conduct annual monitoring of all recognized and potential nesting areas, and although green turtles forage extensively on seagrass meadows in Abu Dhabi, no evidence has ever been found to suggest that they have nested in any other location within Abu Dhabi. We have also seen from previous satellite tracking studies on Abu Dhabi’s green turtles that the majority have migrated to Oman to nest before making their way back to our waters,” Ahmed Al Hashmi added.
The majority of Hawksbill and green turtle sightings in Abu Dhabi occur in the seas around the islands of Al Yasat and Muhayimat, as well as in the Al Dhafra Region, which is between Abu Al Abyadh and Bu Tinah. Large seagrass beds, marine algae, and coral reef ecosystems can be found in these places.
Since 1999, the organization has been studying and safeguarding marine turtles in Abu Dhabi’s territorial seas. It has been successful in keeping the population of these creatures constant. In two studies, EAD and its collaborators have used satellite transmitters to gather data on migration in an effort to better understand the behavior of sea turtles. 75 Hawksbill turtles and 45 Green Turtles were successfully tagged as part of the research, which also identified key turtle regions, feeding locations, and migration routes.