Introduction

At the Red Sea Group (RSG), we are committed to conserving and enhancing the diverse native wildlife and environments in our area so that we can achieve net positive ecological outcomes. Effective management requires high-quality information streams. To that end, we have established comprehensive survey programs covering the key ecosystems and species within the approximately 250 km of Red Sea coastline within our two areas – The Red Sea (TRS), centered around Al Wajh lagoon, and, slightly north of that, Amaala.

Most of the work documented here has been conducted by our dedicated science team, but we also partner with other groups within and beyond Saudi Arabia to ensure that we remain at the leading edge of methods and technologies to monitor our critical resources.

Last year we reported on the 2021 baseline surveys at TRS. Here we report our similar baseline effort at Amaala and results from the first year of ongoing surveys at TRS. RSG’s goals for this highly diverse area are not only to minimize potential negative impacts of development but also to achieve a net conservation benefit. The Amaala and TRS baselines are the initial benchmark for RSG to measure itself against its commitment to leaving the destination a more thriving and healthier place than it was before. As such, these surveys will set key indicators for regular reporting into:

• Condition of our coral reef habitats, including coral cover and diversity

• Population status of reef fishes, sharks and rays

• Size of breeding populations of key bird species, and measures of their breeding success

• Size of nesting Green and Hawksbill sea turtle populations on our islands

In addition to those ecosystems, our other survey programs assess and report on the extent and condition of mangroves and seagrass, marine mammal populations, and environmental conditions. As part of this report, we share some results and examples from those broader efforts. Future reports will include outcomes from the equally comprehensive terrestrial monitoring programs that we are developing.

In 2022, our team conducted 160 coral reef fish and habitat surveys, more than 240 bird surveys, 200 turtle nesting surveys, 30 marine mammal surveys, more than 150 mangrove surveys and 250 seagrass surveys. It visited more than 300 sites for environmental surveys (e.g., salinity, temperature, oxygen level), and between TRS and Amaala, around 30,000 bird nests and more than a thousand sea turtle nesting tracks. These tracks include 487 Green turtle tracks at the main breeding location in our area – Breem Island.

We extended our use of machine learning technology to automatically analyze coral reef survey images, making further improvements to the accuracy of our CoralNet system (https://coralnet.ucsd.edu/). Using such technology dramatically increases our ability to gather reliable and consistent data across such a vast and diverse area.

The report is divided into four chapters - three focused on a particular wildlife or environment category and one giving more details on technological approaches that we are using:

• Coral Reef Fish and Habitats

• Birds

• Priority Megafauna

• Other surveys

All of our habitats are precious and potentially vulnerable, but some habitats in our area are especially important for species that are considered critically endangered or vulnerable to extinction, such as the Hawksbill turtle, the Sooty falcon, and the Halavi guitarfish. The work being done to preserve and nurture this area and protect these key species will benefit not only our area but also contribute to larger conservation efforts in the region and beyond.