Survey of marine turtle nest sites in the UAE.

Abstract

The United Arab Emirates is party to the Regional Convention for Co-operation on Protection of the Environment from Marine Pollution, and the Action Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas. The waters of the Arabian Gulf are rich in seagreass (Halodule. Syringodium and Halophila spp.), That provide a direct food source for the green turtle (Cheloniamydas). and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). The Gulf also contains numerous offshore Islands and sandbank. These offshore areas are possibly used by turtles for nesting, but presently there is a lack of ecological survey data (sheppard and Wells 1988). This study provided new survey data on turtle nesting from sir Bun Nair Island (25°.15°N, 54°.15'E) in the Arabian Gulf (figure 1) .