Sea turtles in Gulf under heavy pressure from human activity, study shows

Calls have been made for stronger protection for sea turtles after a study found that the creatures are under some of their greatest pressures in UAE waters.

Fishing, shipping and oil and gas infrastructure could all affect sea turtles in the Gulf, analysis by an team of international scientists indicates.

Only a fraction of the animals’ Gulf habitats are covered by marine protected areas (MPAs), according to the research, and even in these, there may be much human activity.

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has said that it has measures in place to protect sea turtles over and above those offered by MPAs.

In the study, researchers looked at the green sea turtle and the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle.

They determined how much pressure the turtles were under by developing a cumulative exposure index (CEI) based on factors such as how much fishing and shipping traffic there was. The highest CEI values in the Gulf were in UAE waters.

The study’s first author, Dr Forough Goudarzi, of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, said that “improvements in protection are absolutely necessary” in the Gulf.

“Our study showed that most foraging areas are affected simultaneously by several activities such as intense fishing, dense shipping traffic, and proximity to oil and gas infrastructure,” she said.

“The cumulative exposure index revealed that only a few foraging sites can really be considered low-risk.