Bird Sanctuary

In 2003, the Environmental Management Office submitted a proposal for the establishment of a Bird Sanctuary on the North-East coast of the island, to include the broad expanse of inter-tidal mudflats between Qeshm town and the village of Dargahan. This was approved by the QFA administration. The sanctuary extends for about 11 km from east to west, and 500 metres out to sea beyond mean high water mark. It also includes a strip of land 120 metres wide above the mean high water mark (giving a total area of about 680 ha). This is one of the most important areas for migratory water birds on the island, regularly holding large numbers of Dalmatian Pelicans, Greater Flamingos, Eurasian Spoonbills, herons, egrets, shorebirds, gulls and terns. It is also an important fishing area, with about fifteen permanent fish traps. These will be unaffected by sanctuary status, but the construction of further fish-traps will be prohibited. It is hoped that it will be possible, in the future, to construct a research centre with accommodation for students in or adjacent to the sanctuary.

Marine Turtles

The waters around Qeshm Island support a rich and divers marine fauna, including extensive coral reefs off the south coast. Important marine resources include a major shrimp nursery in the Khuran strait off the north-coast of Qeshm, and important nursery areas for bottom-dwelling and pelagic fish off the south- east coast.

The inter tidal mud flats, Mangrove area and coral reefs provide suitable habitat for a wide variety of annelids, mollusks, crustaceans and fish which form an important food source for larger fish, water birds, marine turtles and marine mammals. The exceptionally high productivity of coral reefs and mangrove ecosystems have been well documented in many parts of the world, and is widely acknowledged on Qeshm Island, where over the last 11 years, the QFA and local communities have been engaged in Program of mangrove planting in other areas of mud flat around the Island.

Green turtle

Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is known to occur in Qeshm Island waters through the year. It seems this turtle has chosen around the Island as its foraging place. But it has no nesting in Qeshm Island. According to several interviews with local fishermen of Qeshm Island; they stated existence of the Green turtle nesting that used to be found in abundance in southern beach and in the skirt of Qeshm town.

Hawk's bill turtle

Hawk's bill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata bissa): Environment Management office, Mr. Bijan Darrehshouri, who is known in Iran as Marine turtle reviver, of Qeshm Free Area found out the nesting of Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Qeshm Island and for the first time in Iran, it began protecting and studying on these animals. Each year, an estimated 200 Hawksbill Turtles come to lay their eggs in the soft sand above high water mark on a 25-km stretch of beach between Direstan Gulf and Suza town, on the south coast of the island.  With the efforts of the Environmental Management Office and at the request of the GEF Small Grants Program, this stretch of beach, including a strip of land 120 meters wide above mean high water mark, has been declared a protected area for the turtles to help conserve the habitat.

For the past six years, the Environmental Management Office has been working with the people of Shibderaz village in this project to protect the nests and eggs of the turtles. The project includes awareness rising by conservation and art work, developing a community based eco-tourism plan including income generation activities, and preparation of CDs, booklets and videos on the lessons learned for wide dissemination. Five to seven local youths are employed for five months each season to find the turtle nests, remove the eggs, and rebury them at the main project site, where they can be protected (by wire mesh) from predation by dogs and foxes until they hatch. The hatchlings are then allowed to make their own way into the sea.

Details of clutch size, incubation period and hatching success are meticulously recorded, as well as details of temperature, humidity etc. Adult females individually mark with permanent tags, and it has been demonstrated that some females will visit the beach three times in a season to lay eggs. The Tags are prepared by Australian Embassy office in Iran.  Two small huts with power and water supply have been constructed by the Environmental Management Office at the main project site near Shibderaz, to serve as a base for the project employees.

The project has been extremely successful, not only in terms of improving the hatching success of the turtles, but also in involving the local community in an important conservation project. The success of the turtle project is now clearly a source of some pride to the villagers of Shibderaz, who are frequently requested to show their turtles to visiting dignitaries. A grant has been provided through the UNDP GEF Small Grants Program to Shibderaz village council and the Environmental Management Office.

For centuries, Qeshm women, who have been involved in art works and fine handicrafts businesses, have quickly empowered themselves in authentic Kilim-weaving and art works. Over the last seven years, successive training courses held and led by Mrs. Darrehshouri in Qeshm villages. Each training course is for 3 months and an average of 15 local girls and women have been trained. Meantime, the significance of protecting hawksbill turtles has increased among other local residents. Community Weavers have also been inspired to create turtle motifs on their Kilims and other products to help increased the families’ role in protection of the environment and saving the endangered turtles. The currently woven Kilims in Qeshm Island are characterized by exclusively local identity bearing unprecedented design and motifs.