Comm: "Turtles have roamed the oceans for at least 185 million years. Fossils of sea turtles have been dated from the Jurassic period - at the very start of the Dinosaur domination of the Earth Sea turtle numbers have now decreased so rapidly that all the commonly accepted seven species are now threatened with extinction.


"The sultanate of Oman occupies the South-eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula and has 1,700 kilometres of coastline stretching along the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf. Oman is 82% desert but it also has mountains and rich, fertile lands in the south.

"Arabia's seas are just as rich and diverse, here even the oil-rigs are a home to amazing marine life. These seas are also a refuge for one of the world's most important populations of sea turtles. Five out of the seven species of sea turtle nest on Oman's beaches including Green Turtles, Loggerheads, Hawksbill Turtles, Leatherbacks and Olive Ridley Turtles.

"Mas-irah Island is home to the world's largest nesting population of loggerhead turtles - thirty thousand have been estimated to nest in the months of May and June alone, producing a total of over three million eggs per year.

"Although scientists have been able to observe the turtle mating rituals, it is still very hard to be precise about numbers. Male turtles spend all their lives at sea so population estimates have to be based on the number of females that come ashore to nest. The age when females first nest varies dramatically, Hawksbill turtles have nested after only three years from hatching, but Green turtles may not nest until they are fifty years old.

"According to the UN Environment Programme's Cambridge based species monitoring unit, Leatherbacks, Loggerheads, Greens and Olive Ridley Turtles are all classified as 'endangered' while the Hawksbill turtle is classified as 'critically endangered. And humans are exclusively responsible.

"For over 20 years, the Government of Oman has been running a turtle-monitoring programme. Since 1977 they have tagged and measured thousands of turtles nesting on their many beaches."

Ranger: "We supervise, look after and protect these turtles, and we stamp out their traces, issue guide lines to the public regarding the well being and safety of the turtles in their journeys across dry land.

"We also record the number of eggs and help turtles emerging from their egg-shells from the danger posed by some birds, crabs, when they're on land.

"Also, in the evening we follow up the process of numbering the turtles and measuring their length and breadth. Also, we stop the cars, the general public and others from passing though the coast."

Comm: "So the rangers have a tough job as the only safe time to take the measurements is when the turtles are returning to the sea after laying their eggs, generally in pitch-dark. And especially when the average weight of an adult green sea turtle is over 150 kilos.

"Ali Al-Kiyumi is Director General of Nature Conservation in Oman.

"He has a special passion for turtles and he's won the support of a conservation-minded government to run a last ditch programme to safeguard the marine reptiles.

Dr. Ali Al-Kiyumi, Director General of Nature Conservation in Oman: "Why is the turtle so special? It's a very unique reptiles and all around the worlds they are endangered species, all around the worlds. And we have a commitment to protect them, no.

"Naturally it's a big problem to manage such resources, the best thing is how to manage people to participate in such activity without disturbing turtles.

"Turtle exist in Oman long time agos, they are associated with the human beings, within village areas, no. But now because of the development, the lighting, 4-wheel drivings, and nets and engines, boat-board engines, that was induce, or introduce, new impact in turtle habitat in the beach. So we had to control such activity in these areas."

Comm: "Oman's beaches certainly need protecting - all turtles return to the very beach from where they themselves first emerged as hatchlings.

"Here in Oman the researchers have noted that, they invariably return to within a few hundred metres of the same spot where their mothers made their nest in the sand.

"Scientists are still unsure of exactly how marine turtles manage such extraordinary feats of navigation.

"Most species usually come ashore at night, most often at high tide. When they're in the water the turtles are very agile, but on land they're slow and vulnerable. Nesting is an exhausting process.

"The researchers have noted that the turtles emerging from the sea can be easily put off, returning before even trying to lay their cargo of eggs. Some are undoubtedly scared off by bright lights or by some unusual activity on the beach.

"When a female is intent on laying her eggs, she crawls up above the high tide line and there she'll choose her nesting site.
Using her front flippers, she clears the area, and then digs out a 'body pit'.

"When the pit is complete, using her hind flippers she digs out a cavity in which to lay her eggs.

"Even in the midst of digging her nest, the turtle can still be disturbed and return to the sea. Perhaps the sand was not the right consistency, or maybe she exposed a rock or the roots of a plant while digging.

"The eggs are laid two or three at a time and are then covered in thick clear mucus before the next batch is delivered. Depending on the species, between 50 and 200 white, spherical eggs are laid.

"The eggs are soft shelled, with a leathery texture - an evolutionary insurance against breakage.

"When the female has finished laying her eggs, she carefully covers the nest with sand using her hind flippers.
Now begins one of nature's most punishing trials of life. The eggs - and later the hatchlings - are a prized meal for an army of predators.

"Burying the eggs not only protects them from hunters on the beach but also keeps them moist and hidden from the desiccating sun.

"Up to two-thirds of the nesting time takes place after the eggs have been laid, the female taking great care to cover her nest completely with sand. This disguising of the nest site is the turtle's first line of defence against the ever-watchful predator, hoping to dig up a feast of eggs.

"These broken shells are evidence that the females efforts to disguise her brood are often in vain. In daylight hours, flocks of sea birds can devastate poorly covered nests.

"The whole nesting process can take over two hours, before, almost drained of energy, the female turtle returns to the sea.

"At Ra's al Hadd, the easternmost point of Arabia, up to thirteen thousand Green Turtles nest each year. The Government of Oman employs anywhere from 6 to 13 rangers at any one time to patrol the beaches in an attempt to ensure that the nests are undisturbed. Turtles tagged on this beach and on Mas-irah Island have reached shores scattered across the Indian Ocean, including Pakistan and Somalia.

"Turtle tagging does have its problems, as tags on young hatchlings can fall off as the turtles grow. But in recent years new methods have been introduced - such as attaching satellite transmitters to the backs of turtles - all of which are helping to increase our scientific understanding of these mysterious creatures.

"It can take newly born turtles up to seven days to dig their way to the surface. Eventually the roof of the nest falls down and the newly born turtles scramble tortuously to the surface Öand a world full of danger to run one of nature's most savage gauntlets.

"The majority of hatchlings break out at night, which improves their chances of avoiding some of the many predators that are waiting for them. Unfortunately some emerge during the daylight hours, which reduces their chance of survival to virtually nothing.

"When the hatchlings have reached the surface they somehow find their compass bearings and then make their dash for the sea.

"There are several theories as to how they know which way to go - including using particular tastes, or special smells, employing magnetic fields, or differences in light levels, but there is as yet no final answer to the puzzle.

"Light does appear to be one important factor, and human beach-developments, and artificial lighting, can confuse hatchlings and lead them away from the sea to an early death.

"The scramble to the sea is full of obstacles. For a hatchling that is only five centimetres in length, even a footprint in the sand is a massive hurdle, let alone a sand dune.

"A hatchlings first few minutes out of the nest are perhaps its most dangerous. Most emerging in the daylight don't make it to the sea - crabs, foxes, and sea birds are just a few of the predators waiting for an easy meal.

"Oman has a rich variety of bird life and it's not just the gulls that steal the eggs. Some birds swoop down and pick off the hatchlings as they rush across the beach.

"This baby turtle is unknowingly faced with an army of crabs, who line up, ready to attack. If the hatchling is caught, the crabs will disable it by snipping the tendons in its front flippers before dragging it back to their lair.

"But for some hatchlings even if the predators don't catch them, they still may not make it to the sea, and many die of exhaustion or exposure - their first journey is also their last.

"These turtles are among the lucky ones, but in Oman it is estimated than only one in every three to four thousand will survive into full adulthood.

"Cruel it may be, but the fact that the turtle has survived from the dawn of the time of the dinosaurs shows that turtle and nature have struck a fearful symmetry. One that is now being destroyed by human activity. In the last hundred years or so consumption of turtle products has put six of the seven marine species at risk. Fishing for turtles is banned or severely restricted in some parts of the world, but even in these places, each year thousands of turtles become entangled in fishing nets and are accidentally drowned.

"On the remote coast of Bar al-Hickman, where green turtles congregate to feed - local fishermen continue traditional fishing practices, which include the harpooning and slaughter of turtles for food.

"Once the turtle is harpooned and brought to the surface, an incision is made to test its fat content - fat rich females are preferred and although most of the meat is not used, the turtles are traditionally cooked and eaten while fresh.

"While in Oman these practices are strictly prohibited, here, in Indonesia, sea turtle products are readily for sale. In some countries sea turtle eggs are believed to be aphrodisiacs and Green turtle meat and soup are considered gourmet cuisine in many parts of the world.

"The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, was a treaty developed in 1973 which regulates trade and protects all species of sea turtle - a hundred and sixteen countries have banned the import of sea turtles and in Oman a fisheries law passed in 1981 banned all commercial exploitation of turtles. Hunting and egg collection are officially not permitted. Yet many countries don't have such laws and, in Indonesia, shopkeepers proudly display stuffed turtles for sale and each year customs officials around the world confiscate thousands of illegally imported turtles and eggs.

"Scientists in America have found a way for their fishing industry and their marine wildlife, to coexist. The National Marine Fisheries Service has spent millions of dollars developing a Turtle Excluder Device - or TED - which can be fitted to shrimp trawling nets. The diet of a loggerhead turtle includes shrimp - so where you catch shrimp you're also likely to catch turtles.

"In traditional nets, for every one pound of shrimp that is caught up to four pounds of waste is also caught. With a TED fitted, the shrimp pass to the back of the net but it allows the turtles to escape via a metal grid.

"Since 1989, American law requires that the device be installed on the nets of all U.S. fishing trawlers working in areas populated by sea turtlesÖ Fishermen caught trying to sell shrimp ensnared without the TED device have their shrimp catch seized and are written a ticket. The authorities then sell the shrimp themselves, rather than discard it altogether.

"Turtles' lungs enable them to rapidly inhale oxygen in one to three seconds, which will last them for a normal dive of four to five minutes.

"However, they are also able to sleep or rest underwater for several hours during which time their heartbeat slows right down.

"Green turtles can stay underwater for more than five hours - nine minutes may elapse between heartbeats.

"However, the stress of being tangled in fishing nets can drastically shorten their time underwater, which results in many being drowned.

"When the divers approached this turtle it appeared very active yet by the time they cut open the net, it was virtually motionless.

"On realising the turtle needed oxygen, the divers took it to the surface so it could breathe.

"After a couple of minutes the turtle had recovered enough to realise it was time to leave, it took a final big gulp of air before diving back into the deep.

Dr. Ali Al-Kiyumi: "Because of the lifetime of the local communities change, before we didn't have any problem because they coexist, but because the people introduce the new technology fishings or by engines, driving fastner in the sea. So thus reason you have to control such activity

"But natures always take care of natural resources. Natural means management. We have to manage people, we don't have to manage natures, we have to manage people."

Comm: "Initiatives such as the TED device in America and Dr. Kiyumi's endeavours in Oman, give rise to significant advances in the fight to save the turtle population. But national laws alone will not save the turtles, as these far-ranging creatures simply don't recognise political boundaries. Their future conservation needs to be an international priority. After eons of survival, sea turtles may now tragically fall victim to the heavy hand of human greed and exploitation. If man can not find a way to coexist with these creatures, in no time at all, we may wipe out nearly two hundred million years of existence. "