Font Size From sea turtles to sooty falcons, dugongs to dolphins, Saudi Arabia’s NEOM is working to unlock the secrets of its unique underwater world and swell the population of rare species and sea life at the futuristic $500 billion mega business and tourism project.
NEOM’s waters are home to five species of turtles, nine species of dolphins, dugongs, whale sharks, intriguing creatures such as the havali guitarfish, and sharks and rays, amongst many others.
Key projects include sea turtle monitoring and satellite tagging, sooty falcon monitoring, tagging and nest enhancement, dedicated dugong surveys in identified hotspots, aerial surveys of megafauna using drones, boat-based surveys of dolphins, critical habitat work with corals and seagrass, fisheries assessments, and shark and ray baseline assessment.
NEOM has also established a Turtle Conservation Action Plan, which includes key initiatives, protecting crucial nesting beaches and associated habitats – coral reefs for the hawksbills and seagrass beds for the greens.
Read the full story at Al Arabiya
