UAE evades responsibility to protect sea turtles in Socotra

SOCOTRA, May 24 (YPA) – The United Arab Emirates has abandoned an agreement signed by its militias with the Bureau of Environmental Protection in the Socotra Archipelago, to stop the attack on sea turtles on the coast of the island.

Local sources have confirmed that turtles along the coast of the  archipelago are subject to overfishing. This came in light of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional council (STC)’s carelessness, which pledged in mid – July to protect it, according to Al-Mahrya Net.

Socotra’s markets are witnessing a widespread sale of endangered turtle meat, amid local appeals to stop overfishing, which is a violation of all domestic and international environmental protection laws.

All this happened due to the absence of the international community and international organizations concerned with the environment, UNESCO, which have to interfere and provide a protection for the island’s environment and biodiversity.

Emirati and Saudi officers on Socotra Island encourage citizens to destroy the environment by catching rare turtles, some of which are over 1,000 years old, in exchange for 70,000 riyals.

E.M