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Marine Turtle Newsletter 40:8-9, © 1987

Saudi Arabian Sea Turtle Studies

Dr. J. D. Miller
MEPA, P.O. Box 117, Dhahran Airport, Dhahran, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia

Officers of the Meteorology and Environmental Protection Administration (MEPA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been conducting studies on the sea turtles in the Gulf. The purpose of the present work is to generate a data base from which a management plan can be developed and implemented.

There are two primary divisions within the current project. First the distribution of the turtles has been assessed by a series of aerial surveys. Each survey examined a portion of the coast of Saudi Arabia in a qualitative manner and selected sections were surveyed quantitatively. Second, the reproductive characteristics of the Gulf population have been assessed during an island-based tagging program. The results of the work will be used to develop a suitable management plan.

Titanium tags have been applied during the nesting season to just over 1100 turtles. These tags are distinguished by the prefix KSA plus a four digit number on the upper side of the tag. The return address is on the underside of the tag. On the left tag the address is in English and on the right tag the address is in Arabic. Each turtle was tagged through the large scale closest to the body on the trailing edge of each front flipper.

Anyone finding a turtle with a tag bearing the KSA prefix is requested to send the capture data (place, date, collector, method of capture, release point) to the address on the tag or to:

TURTLES, MEPA, PO Box 117,
Dhahran Airport, Dhahran,
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia.