Gulf News: Over 1000 supporters watch The Big Jumeirah Sea Turtle Race

Dubai: Over 1000 supporters of the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project attended The Big Jumeirah Sea Turtle Race to watch six satellite tagged sea turtles and 150 Hawksbill turtles released back into the ocean at Madinat Jumeirah. Hundreds cheered as the turtles made their way back into the sea at the event which was designed to raise awareness of the project and its role in rehabilitating sick and injured sea turtles. Since its inception in 2004, the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project has released over 550 turtles.

For the race itself, six rehabilitated sea turtles (two Green Sea Turtles, two Loggerhead Turtles and two Hawksbill Turtles) were each tagged with a harmless satellite device that monitors their whereabouts in the earth’s oceans. Each is sponsored by a different Jumeirah Property (Jumeirah Beach Hotel; Madinat Jumeirah; Jumeirah Zabeel Saray; Jumeirah Living; Wild Wadi Waterpark; Burj Al Arab) who will go head to head in the competition to see who will be crowned the winner of The Great Jumeirah Turtle Release. The results will be revealed on 31 October 2012 where the turtle who travels the farthest will be announced the winner.Members of the public can follow the turtles’ journey online from a public forum which will be made available following the release at www.facebook.com/turtle.rehabilitation.