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Staff and guests at Monte-Carlo Beach Club, Saadiyat are on the lookout for some special VIP guests, as turtle nesting season has begun on Saadiyat Beach.
Hundreds of critically endangered Hawksbill turtles lay their eggs each year in the Saadiyat Beach District, with the luxury beach club one of their destinations of choice.
Patrick Nayrolles, General Manager of Monte-Carlo Beach Club, Saadiyat said: “We have to be extra vigilant at this time of year, as the turtles have already begun to nest on the beaches. It’s exciting for us and our guests to see nature up close – especially our youngest guests who have scavenger hunts for the eggs and turtle tracks.”
Staff at the club receive special training to prepare themselves for nesting and hatching season. Pictures of turtle tracks are placed around the club for guests to be aware of the signs or turtles laying eggs.
Patrick adds: “Our staff have to be on the lookout throughout the year as turtles can often get swept onto shore. Last year, our lifeguards were able to save numerous turtles that landed on our beach because of unusually vicious waves.”
As part of its turtle conservation programme, Monte-Carlo Beach Club, Saadiyat has also started the ‘Turtle Track’ to log the date that the turtles are found throughout the year - with members of the ‘Turtle Kids Club’ naming turtles they find.
The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) of Abu Dhabi also has a dedicated resource to monitor all activities throughout Saadiyat Beach to ensure the environment is protected.
Resort development is restricted to more than 60 meters back from the seaward edge of the coastal dunes, ensuring there is a buffer zone between construction and the turtles’ habitat. As part of the ongoing Saadiyat development, the brand new streetlights leading up to the beach club will adhere to conservation rules and will be dimmed accordingly so as not to disturb the turtles.
Over 300 eggs are expected to be laid until early July, with the turtle eggs hatching from mid-September.
Key Facts about the Hawksbill Turtle
- Over the past 30 years, the population of Hawksbill turtles has declined by over 80%, due to poaching, ruined habitats, fishing nets and pollution.
- Turtles mainly lay eggs at night, but leave revealing tracks in the sand to where they nest.
- The eggs are buried about 50 cm below the surface of the sand.
- A female turtle will usually return almost 30 years later to beach she was born to lay her eggs.
- The number of nesting female turtles varies each year depending on weather and food.
- Hawksbills nest on Saadiyat Beach and offshore islands in the Arabian Gulf.
- Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles also nest on the coast of Oman and other tropical oceans of the world.
- Saadiyat is unique on the developed coast of the UAE, as the natural dune system is retained which provides an ideal nesting location.
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