Dubai marine scientists and researchers survey dolphin population

Dubai marine scientists and researchers survey dolphin population

Dubai: Twice a week in the last couple of months, a team of marine scientists, researchers and volunteers have been going out in the sea to conduct a survey of dolphin population off the coast of Dubai. Led by Dr Ada Natoli, assistant professor at the College of Natural and Health Science at Zayed University, and founder/director of the UAE Dolphin Project Initiative, they spend 3-4 hours during each trip, covering a specific transect (a path where one counts and records occurrences of the objects of study) out of a total area of over 1, 000 square km of Dubai coastal waters from Port Rashid until Jebel Ali Wildlife Sanctuary. Their mission is to gather scientific data and produce baseline information of marine resources. The data will be used to assess the number of species, population structure and, if possible, predict population trend of local dolphins. At present, there is no exact information on the number of dolphins in Dubai. Dr Ada reiterated it is important to establish baseline information about the status of their population to provide precise and clear information to the government and scientific community and raise the level of public awareness. Dr Ada added the study