Researchers discover the negative link between Palm plantations, nesting birds and manta ray populations. Over meals and sunset chats at a remote research station in Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific, a group of researchers from Stanford University discover one of the longest ecological interactions ever documented. While Douglas McCauley and Paul DeSalles were tracking manta ray movements […]
It’s called Deepstaria Enigmatica, but what is it? A very cool video of a mysterious creature filmed during deep-sea drilling 5000 feet below sea level near the United Kingdom on April 25, has created much clamor amongst scientists. Theories about the species of this animal ranged from a jellyfish to an unknown marine version of the Loch […]
An archaic Saudia Arabian practice of trapping parrot fish in the Red Sea has to stop. The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are a beautiful haven of marine and coastal biodiversity, created as a result of deep ocean rifting which began 70 million years ago and saw the separation of the Arabian plate […]
The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences wants your vote for its project aimed at protecting coastal fisheries One of the world’s oldest Green Islamic organisation is asking supporters to vote for its community-based project which helps protect coastal fisheries. The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES) has managed to make it […]
Environmentalists raise concerns after another vessel is abandoned in the Gulf of Aqaba Around two weeks ago, a ferry carrying 1,230 passengers caught fire in the Gulf of Aqaba en route to the Egyptian port of Nuweibeh. Despite three days of work to put out the fire, the ship named ‘Pella’ began to take on […]
Abu Dhabi’s Corniche has become the Arabian Gulf’s first Blue Flag beach The city of Abu Dhabi has become the first Arabian Gulf location to gain a Blue Flag environmental award for one of its beaches. The certification has been awarded to the famous Abu Dhabi Corniche, a four mile stretch of coastline which is […]
Mostly concerned expatriates snag bean bags ahead of The End of the Line screening outside the Pavilion Dive Center in Dubai. A dead dugong was found floating in the Gulf waters near the artificial island development Palm Jebel Ali in Dubai on 2 May, 2011. Listed as vulnerable on the International Union of Conservation’s (IUCN) […]
Green Prophet speaks to Rima Jabado, a marine scientists working in the UAE about marine conservation and what dissection can teach us about sharks Following the tremendous response to our post on the UAE’s burgeoning fin shark trade (despite a ban on shark finning we might add), we at Green Prophet have embarked on impromptu […]
“What is happening to sharks around the world is the most shameful and biggest commercial sellout that man has ever perpetuated against the natural world” – Marine Conservationist and Film-maker Jonathan Ali Khan Swapping fashion design for fish and wildlife, the film-maker Jonathan Ali Khan has been working on marine conservation in the United Arab […]
We speak to the International Fund for Animal Welfare Middle East about the need for stronger legislation to protect sharks in the UAE and how working with fisherman can halt the decline of sharks Following the recent revelation that the UAE remains an important market hub for the Far Eastern delicacy of shark fins, and […]
Environmentalists condemn Israeli plans to build an artificial island off the coast of Gaza to house a port, an airport and to encourage tourism It seems that it is not only Dubai that harbours ridiculous dreams of artificial islands– Israel does too. Israeli minister for transport Yisreal Katz recently revealed that plans to construct an […]
Despite the popular notion that sharks are a threat to human life, the reality is that we as humans form a bigger threat to the survival of sharks. In the Middle East, the growth of shark fishing and shark fining is becoming a serous threat to the shark population in Arabian waters. Although the UAE […]
A five-metre-long female shark and its litter of forty-five hammerhead pups was found dead at the Deira Fish Market in Dubai The Arabian Gulf marine ecosystem took a devastating hit this week after a pregnant great hammerhead shark was landed and forty-five pups gutted out of it in a Dubai fish market. Despite a shark […]
What is the impact of development on the Gulf’s marine ecosystem and can oil companies really play a part in its preservation? As sharks face the threat of extinction worldwide, conservationists in Egypt have recently raised concerns over the need to protect reef sharks in the Gulf by establishing sanctuaries. Fifty years ago, the Gulf […]
New 2011 calendar proves that water conservation can be hunky. One young Swede who recently immigrated to Israel, and was perhaps unaccustomed to the beautiful Mediterranean beaches, decided that the breathtaking body of water deserves all the conservation efforts it can get. And so she recently embarked on a project to raise money for two […]
Green Prophet has closely followed the undersea disasters unfolding in the region such as the Red Sea oil spill, the impact of noise pollution as well as the absence of life forms in Lebanon’s seas. Now, lab tests have confirmed that dead fish discovered in Jordan’s Gulf of Aqaba this September were in fact poisoned […]
Along with a coral reef that scientists did not know existed, this shipwreck is one of two discovered by Nautilus robots in September. When the Nautilus of Titanic fame left Haifa in early September, the researchers on board aimed to scour deeper beneath the Mediterranean Sea’s surface than had previously been possible. Within two and a […]
Despite recent beach cleanup efforts, much more needs to be done to protect the Mediterranean. Meet Dr. Ruth Yahel, a marine ecologist for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, who specializes in studying and protecting Israel’s Mediterranean marine environment. She said that the Med is “going through an enormous change, and that 50% of the […]
Planning is in full swing for ecoQ, an international environmental protection expo taking place in Qatar in September 2011. (From left to right: Haitham Shehab, Dr. Saif Al Hajari, and a member of the ecoQ team) Next September, the Qatar International Environment Protection Expo (ecoQ for short) will be presenting an international showcase of eco-friendly […]
Like the BP oil spill disaster that’s gripping the world, the delicate eco-system of the Red Sea, home to some of the most important coral reefs of the world, may be in peril. Off the coast of Egypt late last week in the Red Sea, an oil spill was reported – one which the government […]
A death trap for corals: Is Abu Dhabi’s Bu Tinah island atoll next in line for dumping? We have heard this issue before: corals are being killed from human caused environmental damage. We’ve heard this in a lot of places, especially in the areas like the Persian Gulf; where large scale construction projects in Dubai, […]
Don’t dump to the sea! The Middle East can learn from America’s mistakes. This sign to protect oysters and fish, Apalachicola, Florida. Two thirds of the world is water – home to mysterious and life-sustaining organisms. The world’s oceans also serve as a carbon sink, helping maintain a balance as humans upset the balance with […]
Dr. Gotlieb comments on the disastrous effects of the oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico and the dangers it portends for Israel’s emerging oil industry. In a New York Times article entitled Our Fix-It Faith and the Oil Spill published this week, Elisabeth Rosenthal writes that “Americans have long had an unswerving belief […]
This Gulf of Mexico oil spill may make Exxon Valdez seem like child’s play. Image via MNN The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is already being referred to by many as “President Obama’s Katrina.” The ongoing spill, a direct result of an explosion on an offshore oil drilling platform has resulted in […]
Scientists seek to solve the mystery of disappearing coral in Abu Dhabi. Bring in Inspector Clouseau! It doesn’t take a whole lot of common sense to figure this one out: you build monolithic structures and artificial islands on a fragile seashore along the Persian Gulf, have oil tankers pulling petrochemicals from the land which leaks […]