Category: Oman

My best experience of swimming with sea turtles was in Daymaniyat Islands Nature Reserve, Oman. It happened when I wasn't even intending to swim with turtles. I actually meant to go scuba diving in the nature reserve. But it turned out to be the perfect experience to show how magical a marine wildlife encounter could be, when it is done ethically. I found out about the marine reserve from former colleagues who were in Muscat as expatriate workers. You see, I had begun wondering whether Oman has scuba dive sites, after I received hints of its maritime identity from a previous trip. So, when I was lucky enough to have yet another chance to travel to Muscat on business, I made sure to schedule in some scuba diving. Intact and healthy reefs of Daymaniyat Islands Nature Reserve Al Mouj Marina Oman is not a cheap country to visit. Moreover, marine excursions depart either from the dive shops at 5 star hotels, or from the swank Al Mouj Marina, in the newer part of Muscat: Saab. This is the kind of marina complex that makes you question a little bit whether you're rich enough to be there. But it seemed that, logistically, my best option for scuba diving in Muscat was with SeaOman, and they are located at Al Mouj Marina. I found it expensive to stay in accommodations within the marina complex. Even the Airbnbs are generally priced high for me, but I did find one that was not too bad - a place that had a live-in sitter, who vacated the place for paying guests. I really wanted to stay within the complex, so that there was no chance of missing the boat! And besides, it's nice to have a posh vacation sometimes. In fairness, you get a lot for what you pay for accommodation, in Oman. Because Middle Easterners tend to travel in family groups, accommodations are provided with this assumption. The Airbnb that I got was a very spacious townhouse. I had several rooms to myself across two floors. Al Mouj sunrise Looking for Whale Sharks with SeaOman As you may have guessed, I didn't get to scuba dive. The reason was that there were reports of whale sharks in the area, so all the boats were converted to whale shark sighting excursions for the time being. It was snorkelling only. I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong - whale sharks are amazing! But I'd already gone volunteering for whale shark surveys with MWSRP in the Maldives, and I doubt that Daymaniyat could top Dhigurah in terms of whale shark encounters! Sure enough, our boat went out to the spot where the SeaOman scout had reported the sighting, but there was nothing there. After looking around for a little while longer, the skipper called it quits and headed for our plan B: snorkeling around the turtle sanctuary island in Daymaniyat. No whale sharks hereTime for plan B: swim with turtles Snorkeling around Daymaniyat Islands I didn't know what to expect from Daymaniyat. By this time, I'd been to coral reefs in Southeast Asia, and in the Maldives. Some were good, but all locations showed stress and damage. Oman is in a hot sort of climate zone, and the reef location's not too deep. Would the heat stress mean that there's bleaching damage? But the moment I dropped into the water, I was awestruck. Perfectly healthy Acropora of all sorts almost completely covered the seafloor. Pinks and browns, with touches of orange and yellow. No bleaching anywhere, completely intact. A school of butterfly fish streamed together to a food spot. Elsewhere, surgeonfish swam around in the water, occasionally foraging. There was no algal smothering, and a closer look reveals a diversity of bryozoa in the connecting spaces between the coral structures. I love butterfly fish, they always seem like they're out on a date! As I swam, I recalled the briefing on the boat about the complete protected status of the nature park. There are no resorts on the reserve islands, and visiting boats are few. So the coral reef is healthy, and could withstand just one stress - heat. Turtle nesting season in Oman The reason why SeaOman chose this location was that, if we were lucky, we might get to swim with turtles. On the nearby island was a turtle nesting beach, and September was still within nesting season (usually July-October). The snorkeling guide apologised in advance. We cannot visit the beach at this time, because the turtle nesting beach is completely off-limits during nesting season. He pointed out the ranger station at the tip of the island, where the Omani flag was flying. There were no ifs, ands, or buts. The turtles are nesting, therefore humans get out of the way. Why couldn't it be that simple back home? Grainy zoom image of the turtle nesting beach, because the boat cannot go any closer than this. Ranger station at the tip of the island Don't Swim with Turtles. (What does that mean?) The water was calm that day. Only light ripples on the surface. The snorkeling guide gauged my water confidence and decided to give his attention to the other snorkelers instead. I marked the location of the boat, and decided to strike out in a different direction from the other tourists hoping to swim with turtles. I already had turtle encounters before, so I was more open to exploring what else I could find in the reef. Besides, most people do not have good snorkeling form, whereas I wanted to simply float patiently (which is the best way to catch marine life doing their usual stuff). If you want ethical turtle encounters summarised down to just one thing, this is it: You don't swim with turtles. You approach, hover, and see if the turtle wants to swim with you. The ethical way to swim with turtles is that you don't. You let the turtle decide if it wants to swim with you. The turtle should decide to swim with you How to approach turtles (and other marine wildlife) This diffident attitude is probably a good rule of thumb for many marine creatures, although it is more important for shy animals who are normally solitary and are not apex predators. The reason is fairly obvious, isn't it? If your normal life is just you blissfully swimming around by your introvert self, you're not going to deal well with a sudden influx of paparazzi humans swarming after you. And if you're typically a prey species, a larger thing you may never have seen before swimming purposely towards you could be a monster predator! So, if you're snorkelling, and then come across a turtle, how should you approach? 1. Approach the turtle slowly. Swim like you're just browsing the reef, not like you're in pursuit! This way, the turtle has time to notice you, and decide whether it's comfortable that you're around. 2. Once you have approached, stop. If it continues with what it was doing, then you can hover at a distance where you can maintain your place in the water without having to swim much. (Yes, this means that the worse swimmer you are, the further this distance is.) If it swims purposefully away from you, respect that and don't pursue. How to swim with turtles ethically OK, you're hovering. The turtle didn't leave, and is minding its own business. Or maybe, this particular one noticed you, and is even curious! Perhaps you're lucky enough that the turtle is approaching you. You're excited. How should you act in this situation, when the turtle is coming to swim with you? So far so good. It hasn't skedaddled. 1. Be cool. Stay still. The turtle is curious about you. You've done the approach right, you don't come across as a threat. But it hasn't seen you around before. All you need to do to have an amazing turtle encounter, is stay as still as possible. You could twirl in place if you can do it gracefully in the water, if you want to maintain sight of the turtle as it swims around examining you. Essentially, be like the lady in an old-fashioned ball. The guy should come to you. In the case of wildlife encounters, the turtle is the guy. If you wanna pretend you're dancing, then the turtle leads - you follow. 2. Do not touch the wildlife. If you think about it, very little inter-species touching happens in the ocean, unless someone is eating someone else. So, I guess you can say that unsolicited touching is probably seen by most marine life to be as rude as President Trump touching the British Queen! So, even if the turtle has begun to swim around you, do not touch it. You might have the incredible experience of being touched by marine wildlife. But you should not initiate. Why are Ethical Wildlife Experiences Important? There are many reasons why an ethical approach to wildlife experiences is important for the animal itself. Many marine species are stressed by excessive attention, which causes them to change behaviour. Turtles may be discouraged to go to the shallows, or rest on the surface. They may feed less to avoid people. All of it affects their overall health. Quite a few marine species have protective mucus on their bodies. Touching them, for example, disrupts this mucus layer and opens them up to infection. So, we won't have the opportunities for wildlife experiences for long, if we do not do it ethically. The less you move, the more you'll see. Ethical wildlife interaction is also a better wildlife experience But above all, it doesn't even make sense to have an unethical wildlife experience, just because a forced experience is such a poorer quality experience. True, an ethical approach to wildlife experiences cannot guarantee that you will have the interaction. But, when you do encounter the animal, you would be able to see it in its natural setting, with its natural behaviour. It's just no comparison. I hope you are empowered now to swim with turtles the ethical way! Pin and spread these tips!