Hawksbill hatchling turtle rescued

A team made up of the Supreme Council for Environment and two fishermen (Hussain Al Riffaie and Fareed Eyad) has successfully rescued a hawksbill hatchling turtle, whose size ranged between 9-10 cm with an estimated age of two weeks.

The marine turtle was found caught in one of the haddrah’s (traditional fishing nets) nearby the Nurana project in the northern area.

Bahrain’s territorial waters host a range of marine turtles of which three are predominant: the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta).

Previous studies have stated that marine turtles do not use Bahrain’s coastal zones for nesting purposes although they do utilise the country’s marine waters for forging and other purposes throughout their life cycle.

However, the sighting of hatchlings in the area indicates that there is a possibility that marine turtles might nest along the coasts of Bahrain. It is important to note that anthropogenic activities directly and indirectly impact marine turtle populations in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Urban expansion and the disposal of rubbish into the sea, especially plastic, have direct and indirect impacts on marine ecosystems, which have negative implications on marine turtles. Moreover, turtles face growing pressures such as by-catch resulting from shrimp fishing practices mainly through trawling.

The Supreme Council for Environment runs a dead marine mammals and turtles monitoring programme which aims at establishing a database of recorded dead sightings which is entered following the inspection of the dead mammal or turtle to identify the reason of death.

Subsequently, the body is disposed of following the national safety procedures in collaboration with the Ministry of Works, Municipalities and Urban Planning.

The Supreme Council for Environment invites all citizens and fishermen to report any sightings of dead marine mammals or turtles through its dedicated hotline 80001112.