Jumeirah Al Naseem releases more than 70 rescued turtles

A rare Olive Ridley sea turtle, named 'Barnacle', checked out of Jumeirah Al Naseem’s turtle rehabilitation lagoon on May 11 along with more than 70 critically endangered hawksbill turtles, who had all been nursed back to health by the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project (DTRP), headed back home into the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

“There are very few Olive Ridleys nesting in Arabia and all of them nest on Masirah Island in Oman. This is the first time an Olive Ridley has been tagged in the UAE and we are all very excited to discover where she will travel to next. This initiative provides valuable data about how the turtles are progressing in the wild. We are especially gratefully to the local community and the organisations who found many of the injured turtles and brought them to us for rehabilitation," said marine biologist and Burj Al Arab aquarium operations manager Warren Baverstock.

Children from the Dubai British School were invited to and learn more about the DTRP; the kids purchased a special satellite tag for 'Barnacle' which will enable them to track her progress online. 

'Barnacle' was rescued several months ago, suffering from positive buoyancy, a condition wherein a turtle constantly floats high up in the water. After spending time in the turtle rehabilitation facilities at Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, the DTRP team moved her into the turtle lagoon at Jumeirah Al Naseem and within three weeks, she was able to swim down to the bottom.

This latest release brings the total number of turtles returned to the wild since the project began in 2004 to 1,175.  All the turtles have been rescued from the shores of the UAE by members of the public and nursed back to health by the DTRP, which still stands as the only project of its kind in the Middle East. All the turtles started their rehabilitation at the facilities within Burj Al Arab Jumeirah and then moved to the new turtle lagoon at Jumeirah Al Naseem prior to release.

The project accepts any distressed turtle, with the most common turtles found in the Arabian Gulf being the critically endangered hawksbill and the endangered green sea turtle. The majority are juvenile hawksbills, which are found washed up on the coast during the winter months of December, January and February suffering from the adverse effects of cold sea temperatures. Other common aliments include ingesting plastic rubbish and injuries sustained from boats.

Situated near the shores of the Arabian Gulf, the facility at Jumeirah Al Naseem is the region’s first purpose-built lagoon for rehabilitating rescued turtles. The animals which have suffered a range of illnesses or traumas, can be monitored in the lagoon before they are returned back to their native waters. The facility is overseen by marine biologist Warren Baverstock and his team of six who work to rehabilitate injured and sick turtles, mainly hawksbills, green and loggerheads, from around the region. The satellite tagging initiative will allow the DTRP to develop a picture of the turtles’ journeys through the region.