According to the wildlife department, the
turtle died of wounds caused by a metallic object inside its digestive tract, as suggested in an X-ray report.
Erosion, seawalls and even sandcastles and beach umbrellas can also lead to greater sea
turtle deaths by creating obstacles babies must navigate before reaching the water.
The trust has for more than 20 years been involved in various activities aimed at supporting the marine ecosystems."We've been undertaking project activities in line with our four thematic programming areas which include
turtle protection, provision of education and awareness, alternative eco-friendly and sustainable livelihoods and waste collection and management.
Jimena Rodriguez, manager of Gulf Green
Turtle Conservation Project, said, 'Being long-living animals,
turtles are indicators of the status of the marine environment and require long-term strategies that can benefit other animals, habitats, and human well-being.
Following up on a high number of
turtle deaths in 2012-13 that conservationists were attributing to a "whole kit and caboodle of reasons," including runoff from agriculture, industrial toxins, and climate change, the team conducted physical exams and tested the
turtles' blood over time, looking for signs of contaminants and illness.
Marking the occasion of World
Turtle Day, Emirates Nature-WWF and its partners Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the Marine Research Foundation (MRF) revealed the groundbreaking results of their ongoing research on the Gulf Green
Turtle Conservation Project.
To more fully understand the density of the populations of these two
turtle species, as well as the environmental and anthropogenic factors that have driven them, the authors' combined data from 13 years of in-water visual surveys of
turtle abundance near 53 islands, atolls, and reefs.
Sea
turtle populations have been greatly impacted by climate change and human development and activities.
There are only five
turtle nesting sites in the Sultanate of Oman and the protected beaches of Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa and adjacent sister property Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa are among them.
The IUCN classifies the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) as critically endangered, the green
turtle (Chelonia mydas) as endangered, and the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) as vulnerable.
Most people only know a few basic facts about
turtles: They are slow-moving, egg-laying, cold-blooded reptiles.