Abu Dhabi (EAD) has released a book titled "Whales and Dolphins of Fujairah and the Arabian Region." The publication aims to consolidate knowledge about marine mammals based on global research while focusing on the fauna of Fujairah.
The book examines whales and dolphins in the context of human life, not only in relation to fishermen and sailors who encounter them but also from the perspective of broader issues such as fishing, whaling, shipping, and tourism in one of the world's fastest-growing regions.
The authors of the publication are Robert Baldwin, CEO of the environmental consulting company Five Oceans, and wildlife consultant Balazs Buzas. Their work is the result of five years of scientific research, including marine expeditions as part of the Fujairah Whale and Dolphin Project.
According to the authors, the concept of a detailed study of the whales and dolphins of Fujairah arose after a sperm whale was stranded on the emirate's shores in 2012. "This incident demonstrated that Fujairah has one of the highest levels of marine mammal diversity in the UAE, not least due to the presence of diverse habitats on the continental slope and in the open ocean, which are absent in most other emirates."
They noted that recent years of targeted research have shown that Fujairah is home to dolphins, sea turtles and snakes,birds, as well as a wide variety of fish and other marine species. In addition, large whales sometimes pass through the waters of Fujairah.
The book details 22 species of whales and dolphins that have been officially recorded in the Arabian region, including 12 known from Fujairah. Discussing research initiatives, Baldwin and Buzas said they studied whales and dolphins in deep coastal waters, an area that had not previously been the subject of special research anywhere in the Arabian region. As a result, they were able to record 12 different species of whales and dolphins, representing nearly 15% of cetacean species in the world and more than half of those known to occur in the Arabian region as a whole. "Several years of detailed studies followed, including ship-based and aerial surveys, using methods such as systematic visual surveys, photo-identification studies, acoustic surveys, and biopsy sampling for genetic analysis," Baldwin said. "At the end of the study period, which provided the information used to write this book, the Fujairah Research Center (FRC) was opened with the support of the Environment Agency, which is now responsible for continuing the research."
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