The Great Gulf Turtle Race is on

READY SET GO: Post-nesting females are being tracked

You can track the hawksbills' progress online

June 2011: Recently equipped with satellite tracking GPS devices to record their movements and ultimately protect their habitat, 22 out of 24 tagged Hawksbill turtles swimming in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) waters are competing in the Great Gulf Turtle Race. Starting at the beginning of the months movements can be tracked and visitors can cheer for their favorite turtles at www.gulfturtles.com

This spring conservation teams from the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF) travelled to beaches throughout the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Iran to locate and equip 24 female Hawksbill turtles with satellite transmitters as they return to the sea after nesting.

During its three years, the Marine Turtle Conservation Project aims to track up to 75 post-nesting Hawksbill turtles as they swim throughout GCC waters creating a detailed map of migratory routes including foraging and breeding grounds. The project will help to form regional conservation strategies in a bid to help protect the hawksbill turtle, listed as ‘critically endangered' on the IUCN Red List.

Creating a detailed map of their movements
Each time the turtle surfaces to breathe, their transmitters signal an orbiting satellite that records their location. Using computer software, researchers create a detailed map of the turtles' movements, regularly update and upload the maps to www.gulfturtles.com and analyse the results to fill in data gaps and guide the creation of effective conservation programmes in the region.

The EWS-WWF Marine Turtle Conservation Project organised the Great Gulf Turtle Race to raise awareness about the conservation status and ecology of these critically endangered long-distance swimmers. Last year, scientists recorded a turtle leaving a beach south of Muscat, Oman and travelling 20km per day for 50 days to reach Oman's Masirah Island 1000km away. For the first time ever, a turtle was recorded migrating from the Arabian Sea through the Straits of Hormuz to forage in Gulf waters off Ajman.

Turtles can travel more than 400km in three weeks
‘In 21 days, a post-nesting Hawksbill turtle can travel more than 400km crossing several international borders. Last year we recorded a turtle swimming more than 5,000km,' said Lisa Perry, programme director at EWS-WWF. ‘These movements demand international conservation measures to protect nesting grounds in one country, migratory routes through another, and foraging grounds in yet another. Knowing these migration patterns is necessary to protecting their future.'

The Great Turtle Race ends on July 11, 2011. The turtle travelling the furthest distance in this time period, no matter its location, will be crowned the winner.