Dubai-based hotel company Jumeirah Group celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP) by releasing 110 critically endangered hawksbill turtles on World Sea Turtle Day.
The turtles were rescued from the shores of the United Arab Emirates and nursed back to health by the DTRP, before being returned to the wild in the presence of Emirati school children and hotel guests.
Jumeirah Group partners with Dubai’s Wildlife Protection Office to run the rescue project, along with the veterinary support of Dubai Falcon Hospital and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, while the Burj al Arab’s aquarium team provides day-to-day assistance of the project.
Burj al Arab’s Aquarium operations manager Warren Baverstock thanked the public for supporting the project, citing the positive impacts that the DTRP has had on preserving the sea turtle population.
“It is estimated that only one out of 1000 sea turtle hatchlings will reach sexual maturity and so by saving these animals and releasing them back into the wild we are in effect increasing the number of turtles that could possibly reach breeding age,” Baverstock said.
Since 2004, the DTRP has rescued 692 sea turtles, providing them with rehabilitation before returning them to the UAE’s waters.
The project has also hosted a number of ‘Big Jumeirah Sea Turtle Races’, an initiative that aims to educate the public on the plight of the sea turtle, while using fitted satellite transmitters on the turtles to track their progress in the water.
Hotel sponsors of the satellite transmitters engage in a ‘race’ to see which turtle swims the farthest, with Mojah, sponsored by Jumeirah Beach Hotel, winning the last race with an impressive 1086km.
The project’s tagging initiative records valuable data on the sea turtles, and allows the team to compare habitat, temperature choice and migration patterns for each species, which is crucial for the formulation of conservation plans.
