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.”