In a milestone for marine conservation, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve has launched a live satellite tracking program for hawksbill and green turtles, including the first known tagging of a pre-nesting, egg-carrying green turtle in the Red Sea, SPA reported.
This data will fill a critical regional knowledge gap and drive unified, cross-border conservation strategies for these globally endangered species.
The team, led by Senior Marine Ecologist at Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve Dr. Ahmed Mohammed and KAUST Beacon Development’s Senior Marine Megafauna Specialist Dr. Hector Barrios-Garrido, successfully in-water captured and tagged three critically endangered (IUCN) hawksbill turtles and seven green turtles. The tags transmit real-time movement data identifying foraging grounds, migratory corridors, and most crucially the nesting site of the egg-carrying green turtle, ensuring the appropriate protection and management is in place. The program continues the reserve’s long-term commitment to marine conservation, expanding its turtle nest monitoring and protection program in operation since 2023.
The reserve protects 4,000km² of Red Sea waters, 1.8% of the Kingdom’s marine area, and a coastline of 170km, the longest coastline under management by a single entity in the Kingdom. Linking NEOM and Red Sea Global, this forms an 800km corridor of protected Red Sea coastline. It is a refuge for five of the world’s seven turtle species and a breeding ground for green and hawksbill turtles. The reserve’s ranger teams monitor turtle activity both on shore and at sea, protecting nesting sites critical to natal homing, the biological instinct that drives turtles to return to the same beaches where they were born.
‘’Critically endangered hawksbill turtles face an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild within our lifetime. With fewer than 200 breeding-age females remaining in the Red Sea, their survival depends on closing vital knowledge gaps to enable their effective conservation,” said CEO of Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve Andrew Zaloumis.
He added, “Hawksbill turtles hatching on the reserve’s protected beaches range across 438,000 km² of open sea bordered by eight MENA countries, before returning some three decades later to the same sandy beach to lay their eggs. Our satellite tagging and tracking program is a game-changer, providing the real-time data needed to identify their critical staging, foraging, and rookery areas across the Red Sea. The data will support national and regional conservation efforts to drive forward a much-needed unified ecosystem-wide turtle conservation management plan.’’
The reserve’s ongoing turtle conservation supports Saudi Arabia’s commitments under the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species and the IOSEA Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding by strengthening habitat protection and regional cooperation through scientific knowledge-sharing across the Red Sea.
Senior Marine Ecologist at the reserve Dr. Ahmed Mohammed stated, ‘’These state-of-the-art, lightweight tags are designed to operate for at least 12 months, providing continuous data that will enable detailed analysis of seasonal patterns, developmental habitats, and contribute valuable insights to regional and global sea turtle research. Additionally, depth sensors will reveal sea grass meadows, essential foraging grounds for green turtles and critical blue carbon sinks."
Despite the recent global reclassification of green turtles by the IUCN, regionally, they are still regarded as vulnerable and conservation dependent. All five marine turtle species resident in the Red Sea are listed under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), to which Saudi Arabia became a party in 1979. Turtles remain at risk from entanglement in fishing nets, habitat degradation, and illegal poaching. While these threats are absent within the reserve’s protected waters, ecosystem-wide management strategies that span political boundaries are necessary and the reserve continues to share data with the wider conservation and scientific community and partner with SHAMS on local and regional conservation strategies.
One of eight Royal Reserves, the 24,500 km² Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve stretches from the lava plains of the Harrats to the deep Red Sea in the west, connecting NEOM, Red Sea Global, and AlUla. It is home to the Public Investment Fund's (PIF) Wadi Al Disah project and Red Sea Global’s Destination AMAALA.
The reserve encompasses 15 distinct ecosystems. At just 1% of the Kingdom’s terrestrial area and 1.8% of its marine area, it boasts over 50% of the Kingdom’s species, making it one of the most biodiverse protected areas in the Middle East.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve is one of eight royal reserves established by royal decree and overseen by the Royal Reserves Council chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister. The reserve’s program is integrated with Saudi Arabia’s wider sustainability and conservation programs, including the Saudi Green and Middle East Green Initiatives.
