Green turtles have foraged in the UAE's waters for centuries, but where they went to nest was not known until relatively recently.
The story of how scientists learnt the answer to the mystery is featured in a new documentary made and produced in Abu Dhabi.
Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra, is Environment Agency Abu Dhabi's fourth documentary and charts its quest to learn more about the marine reptiles.
The documentary, produced using footage filmed over a period of years, follows the team as they monitor the nests and movements of the turtles.
This documentary has allowed us to present some of the key threats facing our turtles ... and demonstrate why as society our behavioural change is necessary
Hind Al Ameri, assistant scientist for marine species at the agency, who features heavily in the film, said the team did not initially set out to produce a documentary.
“The plan was to go out in the field and film parts of what we do so we could post that on social media,” she said.
“Then looking at all the footage we had, we decided, if we put it all together, it could result in a documentary.
“It’s very raw. You can see us being stressed in the field, the humidity, and so on.”
The agency is in talks with various media companies to show it to the public, but no deals have been signed as yet, she said.
There are an estimated 5,500 turtles living in the waters off Abu Dhabi. About 1,500 of these are critically endangered hawksbill turtles.
The agency recorded more than 150 hawksbill nests in the waters off Al Dhafra.
But the behaviour of Abu Dhabi’s green turtles, which make up the majority and forage off Abu Dhabi’s seagrass-rich waters, was more of an enigma.
The documentary follows the team’s attempts to find out more, attaching satellite trackers to turtles of mating age to see where they went.
They revealed the epic 10,000-kilometre journey of two turtles that set off from Bu Tinah.
The turtles swam through the Strait of Hormuz, past Iran and Pakistan, stopped in Oman to nest, then returned following the same route.
“We knew there were a lot of green turtles. And we knew they foraged in the seagrass-rich waters, but we didn’t know where they went to nest,” said Winston Cowie, the agency’s marine policy manager, who directed the video.
“That’s why we put satellite tags on them. We watched them, and watched them, and they went all the way to Oman and back, which was pretty incredible.”
The documentary also focuses on the many threats the creatures face, including plastic, which was found in the vast majority of the stomachs of turtles that washed up dead.
"Despite being a challenging feat, with some parts filmed during the height of summer, the creation of Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra was an extremely memorable experience and one that has enabled us to present to the public how our team researches the turtles that reside in Abu Dhabi waters," said Shaikha Al Dhaheri, secretary general of the agency.
“This documentary has allowed us to present some of the key threats facing our turtles including the impacts of climate change, single-use plastics and abandoned fishing gear, and demonstrate why as a society our behavioural change is necessary – to give our turtles their best chance of surviving into the future.
“Our work with the turtles and mitigating these challenges is just the beginning of what we plan to do in the future.”
The documentary features Bu Tinah, a tiny cluster of islands in the Marawah marine reserve. It is in one of the most important sanctuaries for turtles in the Indian Ocean region and is under the protection of the UN Environment Programme’s Indian Ocean-South-East Asian Turtle pact.
The archipelago, in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, is home to coral reefs, dugongs, natural mangroves, dolphins, ospreys and Socotra cormorants.
It narrowly missed out on being named one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature after appearing on a shortlist of 28 locations in 2011.
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
AVOID SCAMMERS: TIPS FROM EMIRATES NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
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5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Results
Women finals: 48kg - Urantsetseg Munkhbat (MGL) bt Distria Krasniqi (KOS); 52kg - Odette Guiffrida (ITA) bt Majlinda Kelmendi (KOS); 57kg - Nora Gjakova (KOS) bt Anastasiia Konkina (Rus)
Men’s finals: 60kg - Amiran Papinashvili (GEO) bt Francisco Garrigos (ESP); 66kg - Vazha Margvelashvili (Geo) bt Yerlan Serikzhanov (KAZ)
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
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The five pillars of Islam
FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
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Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E640hp%20at%206%2C000rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E850Nm%20from%202%2C300-4%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E11.9L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh749%2C800%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
MATCH DETAILS
Liverpool 2
Wijnaldum (14), Oxlade-Chamberlain (52)
Genk 1
Samatta (40)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.