DUBAI: The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project released on Friday 15 hawksbill and six green turtles into the Arabian Gulf in an event that coincided with World Sea Turtle Day 2023.
The project, launched by Jumeirah Group, comes as part of Dubai’s ongoing commitment to marine biodiversity and ecosystems, reported the Emirates News Agency.
The release of the two species, both of which are endangered, underscores the vital role turtles play in maintaining the balance of marine habitats.
The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project mainly focuses on the conservation of the hawksbill turtle, a critically endangered species that annually nests along the Gulf coast.
Jumeirah Group’s CEO Katerina Giannouka said that, with many of Jumeirah’s resorts being coastal, “we witness first-hand the impact of climate change on precious marine species and these delicate ecosystems.
“Coastal resilience and biodiversity health are critical to Jumeirah as a business … We have an obligation to act now, to educate, to collaborate, and to champion progress toward a sustainable future for all.”
Among the successfully rehabilitated turtles were one large female green turtle, which had suffered carapace damage due to a boat strike, and a male hawksbill turtle named Zippy.
Zippy was rescued by DTRP in October 2022 after being found in bad shape floating near the Ras Al-Khaimah shoreline. He had suffered intestinal impaction from eating plastic debris and a severe lung infection and was completely covered in barnacles.
Government representatives, academia and non-governmental organizations attended Friday’s event. Representatives from Yas Sea World Research and Rescue, which performed a CT scan on Zippy at the start of his remarkable rehabilitation journey, were also present.
“With such a limited number of these turtles left, it is essential to ensure that every one of them can fulfill its role in maintaining population numbers. It was critical for us to release our adult sea turtles as soon as they fully recovered,” said Barbara Lang-Lenton Arrizabalaga, director of the aquarium at Burj Al-Arab.
She added that they have already released several turtles this season, and “we can see from our satellite tagging program that some of these animals have traveled to their nesting sites.
“As beach temperatures rise due to climate change, the sex ratio of sea turtles is shifting toward a higher number of females being born. The reintroduction of a fully grown male hawksbill turtle like Zippy marks a significant milestone for sea turtle conservation in the UAE and globally,” added Arrizabalaga.
The satellite tagging program has helped the team successfully trace the journey of a rescued olive ridley turtle, which are occasionally encountered in UAE waters, back to crucial nesting sites for the species in India.
Previous data has also shown a green turtle migrating as far as Thailand, demonstrating the importance of rehabilitation and release in maintaining sea turtle populations worldwide.
“The goal is to ensure that turtles receive the best care possible. Building inter-emirate cooperation across the UAE’s scientific communities, rescue centers and government entities enables us to undertake a mutually beneficial cooperation in sea turtle rehabilitation, research, and habitat restoration,” concluded Arrizabalaga.
The project also runs an educational program for school groups to learn more about the work undertaken by DTRP.
21 endangered turtles released into Arabian Gulf for World Sea Turtle Day
https://arab.news/67ehy
21 endangered turtles released into Arabian Gulf for World Sea Turtle Day
- Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project comes as part of Dubai’s ongoing commitment to marine biodiversity and ecosystems
- Jumeirah Group’s CEO: ‘We have an obligation to champion progress toward a sustainable future for all’
Arts festival’s decision to exclude Palestinian author spurs boycott
- A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival
SYDENY: A top Australian arts festival has seen the withdrawal of dozens of writers in a backlash against its decision to bar an Australian Palestinian author after the Bondi Beach mass shooting, as moves to curb antisemitism spur free speech concerns.
The shooting which killed 15 people at a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14 sparked nationwide calls to tackle antisemitism. Police say the alleged gunmen were inspired by Daesh.
The Adelaide Festival board said last Thursday it would disinvite Randa Abdel-Fattah from February’s Writers Week in the state of South Australia because “it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time so soon after Bondi.”
FASTFACTS
• Abdel-Fattah responded, saying it was ‘a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship.’
• Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
A Macquarie University academic who researches Islamophobia and Palestine, Abdel-Fattah responded saying it was “a blatant and shameless act of anti-Palestinian racism and censorship,” with her lawyers issuing a letter to the festival.
Around 50 authors have since withdrawn from the festival in protest, leaving it in doubt, local media reported.
Among the boycotting authors, Kathy Lette wrote on social media the decision to bar Abdel-Fattah “sends a divisive and plainly discriminatory message that platforming Australian Palestinians is ‘culturally insensitive.'”
The Adelaide Festival said in a statement on Monday that three board members and the chairperson had resigned. The festival’s executive director, Julian Hobba, said the arts body was “navigating a complex moment.”
a complex and unprecedented moment” after the “significant community response” to the board decision.
In the days after the Bondi Beach attack, Jewish community groups and the Israeli government criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to act on a rise in antisemitic attacks and criticized protest marches against Israel’s war in Gaza held since 2023.
Albanese said last week a Royal Commission will consider the events of the shooting as well as antisemitism and social cohesion in Australia. Albanese said on Monday he would recall parliament next week to pass tougher hate speech laws.
On Monday, New South Wales state premier Chris Minns announced new rules that would allow local councils to cut off power and water to illegally operating prayer halls.
Minns said the new rules were prompted by the difficulty in closing a prayer hall in Sydney linked to a cleric found by a court to have made statements intimidating Jewish Australians.
The mayor of the western Sydney suburb of Fairfield said the rules were ill-considered and councils should not be responsible for determining hate speech.
“Freedom of speech is something that should always be allowed, as long as it is done in a peaceful way,” Mayor Frank Carbone told Reuters.
