Dubai, 12 June 2012 - Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa is the proud sponsor of female Hawksbill turtle ‘Tamara’ in EWS-WWF’s Marine Turtle Conservation Project, who is also participating in the four-week virtual Great Gulf Turtle Race.
The project is specifically focusing on Hawksbill turtles that are currently listed as critically endangered, as per the IUCN. The aim of the project is to monitor feeding and nesting patterns which in turn can assist in decisions on marine development and conservation projects. With sponsorship from a number of companies in the UAE, the EWS-WWF conservation team was able to offset the satellite tagging costs of the turtles.
In order to raise awareness, the team have set up a light-hearted symbolic and virtual race amongst the tagged turtles, reporting the distance covered by these turtles during their migration journeys from 12th June – 12th July 2012. A total of 28 turtles will compete in ‘The Great Gulf Turtle Race’ which shows the journey of each individual turtle. There is also an online popularity contest with the opportunity to cheer on your favourite turtle.
Tamara was spotted on a beach on Masirah Island in Oman and had her transmitter fitted on the night of April 24. She is slightly smaller than the other turtles at just 77cm in curved shell length. At the time of the race start, Tamara had already clocked up 314km travelling westward.
David Thomson, Regional General Manager of Jebel Ali International Hotels expresses his support for the project. “The Marine Turtle Conservation Project is a fantastic initiative that we, as a company, are proud to be involved in for the second year in a row. Their dedicated effort to preserving safe environments for turtles is a worthwhile cause that requires even more support in order to help achieve results.”
Lisa Perry, Director of Programmes at EWS-WWF commented: “We are thankful to our generous turtle sponsors for enabling us to continue our third year of research on marine turtles in the region. We are also excited to follow the journey of beautiful Hawksbill turtles during the Great Gulf Turtle Race and beyond, and we call on all UAE residents to vote for their favourite turtle and learn about these magnificent animals that reside in our seas.”