Jumeirah hotel attracts crowds with...

The Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Programme celebrated the latest release of reptiles with guests and visitors

Dubai's Jumeirah Group has just released its latest batch of endangered turtles, 15 Hawksbill and six Green Turtles, from its Jumeirah Al Naseem hotel beach. Guests and visitors gathered to witness the release event.

With annual rescue figures averaging over 100 sea turtles, the most predominant species tended to in the hotel's Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Programme include Hawksbill and Green turtles, while Loggerhead and Olive Ridley turtles are also occasionally brought in.

Hotel guests and visitors can learn more about these sea turtles and their conservation, witness their recovery and even participate in feeding at the dedicated, state-of-the-art, sea-fed turtle lagoon at Jumeirah Al Naseem.

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Jumeirah Group has been successfully tending to sick or injured sea turtles since the inception of its dedicated programme in 2004, in collaboration with Dubai’s Wildlife Protection Office (WPO), the Dubai Falcon Hospital and the Dubai Central Veterinary Research Laboratory.

Satellite tagging data from the programme shows how the project’s efforts are impacting the global turtle population. The team recently tracked a rescued Olive Ridley turtle, only occasionally found in UAE waters, back to key nesting sites for the species in India.

Previous data has also shown a Green Turtle migrating as far as Thailand, demonstrating the importance of rehabilitation and release to maintaining sea turtle populations worldwide.

Katerina Giannouka, chief executive officer at Jumeirah Group, said: “With many of our resorts being coastal, both here in the Middle East as well as in Europe, Indonesia and the Maldives, we see first-hand the impact climate change has on precious marine species and these delicate ecosystems.”

Giannouka added: “Coastal resilience and biodiversity health are critical to Jumeirah as a business and for the tourism and hospitality sector globally. We have an obligation to act now, to educate, to collaborate and to champion progress towards a sustainable future for all.”