• Five out of the seven marine turtle species around the world are listed as Endangered.
  • A female turtle can lay up to 120 eggs in one nest and can nest up to 3-4 times in one season.
  • This project is currently tracking 24 female Hawksbill turtles from UAE, Oman, Qatar and Iran.
  • Fishermen can now use turtle excluder devices to prevent accidental capture of marine turtles.

 Marine turtles are loved by many, but sadly their very existence is under threat due to the increasing pressures human activities are having on their environments, from habitat loss to unintentional capture in fisheries.

The three-year Marine Turtle Conservation Project was launched in 2010 by Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF) to better understand the conservation needs of the turtles in the Gulf.

Focusing its attention on the critically endangered Hawksbill (IUCN Red Listed), the project will monitor up to 75 post-nesting female turtles from the region using satellite tracking. Turtles depend on coastal habitats, including coral reefs for feeding and beaches for nesting, and this project will help in identifying these key areas throughout the region. 

EWS-WWF successfully concludes 2011 tagging season
Date 06/05/2011 - 07:49

The Marine Turtle Conservation Project Team has succesfully concluded the second year tagging season by tagging 24 Hawksbill Turtles in 4 countries, namely Iran, UAE, Oman and Qatar.The tagging took place in the months of April and May on 7 different beaches across the region.

EWS-WWF is thankful for the support recieved from the project's partners in different countries, which lent their time and expertise to the team. Satellite tracking transmitters are fitted to the top of...

Updates on Hawksbill turtles movements detailed in EWS-WWF February report
Date 04/02/2011 - 23:18

As we approach the tenth month of project transmissions, it is interesting to reflect back on just what wealth of information these turtles are providing us.

Keep in mind that not all turtles got fitted with their transmitter on the same day, so if you check out the summary of transmissions in Table I below you’ll get an idea of how long they have been up and running.

Taken across the four countries, the turtles have been transmitting for an average of 238 days each...

Six-month migration patterns of GCC’s critically endangered Hawksbill turtles detailed in EWS-WWF October report
Date 03/17/2010 - 04:00

Project records nearly 6,500 points of location data showcasing turtles’ regional migration patterns

After six months of tracking twenty turtles across Iran, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Wildlife Society - WWF (EWF-WWF) has compiled its first report on the Marine Turtle Conservation Project.

Our sea turtles are international travelers! From the satellite data, we can see that some turtles travel from Iran to Saudi Arabia, crossing the...