A Hawksbill turtle hatchling looks up from a volunteer's palms as it basks in the rising sun's warmth before being released into the sea at Qatar's Fuwairit Beach. HE the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Sheikh Dr Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani recently participated in an awareness event organised by the ministry on the World Oceans Day at the Hawksbill turtles protection project site on the beach. The project has succeeded in allocating safe habitats for nesting and incubation of the eggs, which contributes towards enriching the marine environment in the country. The ministry has been working on this project since 2003 and ministerial decision no 37 for 2010 was issued to preserve the endangered marine birds and turtles. The minister explained that the work team concerned at the ministry has released more than 35,000 baby turtles over the past five years. The current season was highly successful as 98 nests were transferred to the protected site at Fuwairit Beach, and hatching season started after two months from putting the first nest at this site.
PICTURE: Bonnie James.
