Look: UAE Carpet Sharks, Stingrays Released Into Arabian Sea
Date
1/17/2025 2:04:03 AM
(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)
Twenty Arabian carpet sharks and three honeycomb stingrays were successfully released back into the Arabian Sea on Thursday morning. Considered endangered, both species' return to the sea represents efforts by the Atlantis Atlas Project and Dubai Municipality to support local marine conservation.
The Arabian carpet shark is classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the honeycomb stingray is assessed as near threatened. Both species are native to the Arabian Sea.
Kelly Timmins, the Executive Director of Marine Animal Operations and Sustainability at Atlantis Dubai, said that each of the animals are encouraged to breed while they are in the care of their employees, to promote their population growth as well as their health.“Nothing is artificial. Part of maintaining good animal welfare is having the animals do what they would normally do when they're in the ocean, and breeding and mating is one of the things that they do,” she said. If the animals are deemed fit and healthy, they are then released back to the sea.
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The animals that were released on Thursday at the Jebel Ali Wildlife Sanctuary were aged between eight to 10 months, and were all hatched at the Dubai resort, where“we have the animals in our fish hospital and we establish which ones are going to be fit for release,” Kelly said. She added that the animals released must be native to the area, or else“it would be very bad practice.”
Kelly Timmins.
The animals were transported via large pick-up trucks which include oxygen and water tanks which are at optimum conditions, according to Freisha Patel, Conservation & Education Manager at Atlantis Dubai.“Once we arrive, then the team will monitor the sharks to make sure that they're all healthy and okay,” she added.
The Atlantis Atlas Project, which focuses on tourism initiatives that are sustainable, followed up with a clean-up event at the beach supported by Dubai Municipality, whose members were also in attendance.
In addition to the 20 sharks and three stingrays released on Thursday, Atlantis has released a total number of 58 sharks and 10 stingrays since 2019 as part of their ongoing efforts to protect and conserve marine life.
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