Ruaa Centre discusses with the local authority and community committees how to protect sea turtles in the Gulf of Aden

 As part of the advocacy and raising awareness project for protecting sea turtles in the Gulf of Aden which funded by Urgent Action Fund for women activism, the team of the centre organized a raising awareness and consultative meeting with the local authority and community committees in Buriqah District-Aden, under the title "Sea turtles in the Gulf of Aden and the dangers of extinction".

In the meeting, Mr. Bashir Al-Ghalabi, Director of the Office of the General director of Buriqah District, praised the tireless efforts made by the local authority to combat the selling turtle meat publicly, noting that this phenomenon was widespread in the past, but now the community efforts contributed to reduce these threats significantly.

Al-Ghalabi thanked Ruaa Center for implementing this important raising awareness activity, noting that the local authority issued strict circulars to prevent selling and pouching turtles, stressing the directorate's commitment and readiness to fully cooperate with the centre and other concerned authorities to ensure the protection of sea turtles in the Gulf of Aden.

In the same line, Dr. Jacqueline Mansour Al-Batani, Head of Ruaa Center, praised the efforts made by the local authority in the district to protect sea turtles.  She pointed out that the centre implemented many raising awareness programs and activities in cooperation with various concerned authorities, with the aim of raising community awareness about the importance of protecting these endangered species.

The meeting came out with a number of recommendations that aims at strengthening cooperation between different parties to ensure strict application of laws on the protection of sea turtles.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Centre’s team erected indicative signboards in Buriqah fish market, aimed at spreading awareness among the people of the coastal district and promoting a culture of environmental protection, and include information about the types of sea turtles found in the Gulf of Aden, their environmental importance, the laws that protect them, and the penalties for hunting or harming them.

The meeting was attended by a number of specialists in the field of marine biology, and representatives of associations concerned with the protection of sea turtles.