Ras Al Khaiman tracks turtles gathering on its shores

To identify the destinations and paths of turtles in the seawater, the emirate has started numerating and satellite-tracking them at its coasts.

According to Dr Saif Al Ghais, executive director of the environment protection and development authority, the move will "help to identify their sexual maturity, and this will further help us protect them against extinction, and boost their reproduction boosting the biological diversity on our coasts."

Tracking devices will be fitted on all the turtles gather on the RAK shores and coasts, he added. "We want to know if these turtles remain in the Arabian Gulf or swim towards the Oman Sea and Arabian Sea."

The turtle numerating is part of a big marine project that kicked off few days back, he added. "A special team surveyed the coasts of the emirate and managed to catch five turtles in the first day."

Dr Al Ghais said: "The same team managed to catch 20 turtles in the second day, and they were all sexually mature and able to reproduce this season."

He added that said the team finished the numeration process of all the turtles caught. "They have all been released back to the water of the Arabian Gulf along the coasts of the emirate."

The satellite-connected devices will help identify the destination of all these turtles after the reproduction season.

"Marine turtles spend most of their time in the seawater, and only come to the shore to nest."

Eng. Suzan Salem told Khaleej Times that the information about turtle migration patterns is very little. "Satellite tracking is one way of filling that knowledge gap, allowing researchers to track marine turtles as they swim from place to place."