Kuwait turtle conservation project:
Towards knowledge and protection
By Nancy Papathanasopoulou, Project Manager, Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project
Kuwait is a small country situated in the northwestern shore of the Arabian Gulf. Mainly an oil-producing country, it is not well known for its soft, sandy beaches and thriving coral reefs, or for the sea turtles that live and reproduce there. And yet, all this exists, rendering its small offshore islets very important for marine biodiversity in the area.
A closely intertwined relationship has always existed between the land and the sea. Pearling and fishing traditionally dominated Kuwait's maritime activities. Today, some seventy trawlers catch what is amongst the most important shrimp catches in the world, exporting many tons all over the world. Land reclamation projects and development have modified the marine environment of the mainland, and yacht tourism has reclaimed the islet of Kubbar, once providing nesting grounds for turtles, today hosting nesting Swift tern populations. Despite this, turtles are still observed swimming around Kubbar.
In the last forty years, the population of Kuwait has increased tremendously, and in Kuwait Bay alone, more than 10 square kilometers of intertidal habitat has been filled in for power generation stations, port development projects, recreation and commercial concerns to meet the needs of a developing society with over 60% of its population under 24 years of age.
Green turtle nesting on Qaru in Kuwait. Credit Abdullah Al-Derbas/KTCP.
Under the framework of the Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project, sponsored by TOTAL Foundation and TOTAL Kuwait and with the cooperation of the Voluntary Work Center Kuwait and The Scientific Center, researchers are now attempting to unravel the mysteries of sea turtle presence in the area. Population assessment, species assessment, nesting seasons and public awareness are some of the project's challenges.
Hawksbill & Green turtles
What has been known for years was that Hawksbill and Green turtles have been spotted nesting on offshore, on uninhabited atolls Umm Al-Maradim and Qaru. A beach in the Mina as Zour area has been hosting Hawksbill nesting grounds for several years as well, while the occasional Loggerhead had been caught in fishermen's nets and the odd Leatherback carcass has been found on a beach.
Given the difficulty of access to the offshore islands most times of the year mainly due to unpredictable weather conditions, the Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project took up the challenge to try and access the Islands by all means and monitor, as much as possible, in most months of the year. In cooperation with the Coast Guard, which mans the stations of Umm Al-Maradim and Qaru year-round, some useful data has been collected.
The KTCP team's objectives for 2009 are:
- Nesting seasons have to be confirmed
- Species per island and per season to be determined
- Nesting and hatching success to be measured.
- Interactions with predators and weather to be studied
- Coral reef to be further investigated
- Satellite tracking to be carried out on both species
- Flipper tagging to commence for both species
- Nest monitoring with to begin
- Local community and media to be briefed about the sea turtle issue
- Tailor-made environmental education material to be presented to schools, fishermen and all relevant stakeholders
- Legislation and policy-making to be discussed with authorities to examine possible improvements to the benefit of the marine environment.
50 Green turtle nests
While there is as yet no complete survey, some sites have been studied. In July and August 2008, researchers on Qaru Island found 36 Green turtle pits. In November 2008, 50 pits in total were seen on Qaru, two of which were too small to be Green turtle nests. Could Hawksbills have nested here, too?
Only Green turtles were observed nesting in Qaru in July and August 2008, probably due to the scorching sand temperatures as high as 48 Celsius. They dig enormous body chambers in which to lay their eggs which provide some protection from the heat. Due to the notorious Sarayyat winds in September and October, the team was unable to reach the island to continue the study. The Coast Guard, however, spotted several green turtle hatchlings in the last day of August and photographed them, as did a team of divers, friends of the Voluntary Work Center. No other reports for hatchlings were given in 2008.
Bridled terns predating baby turtles
In Umm Al-Maradim, where both Green and Hawksbill turtles nested before the construction of the new Coast Guard marina, the nesting season had not started in March 2009, but it is thought to have finishes well before July 2008. Seven potential nests were observed on Umm Al-Maradim in July 2008, and a hatchling's track, which did not seem to reach the sea, was observed as well. This may be due to the fact that there is a large colony of Bridled terns which nests in the bushes right by the turtle nesting grounds. Bridled terns are known to search of food all night, probably searching for a protein-rich hatchling to feed on as the terns are nesting at that time of the year.
The project is still scheduled to continue until at least July 2011.
Green turtle nesting on Qaru Island, Kuwait. Photo credit Abdullah Al-Derbas/KTCP
