Nisaa FM: - UAE-based Lebanese scientist, founder and lead scientist at Gulf Elasmo Project, Dr. Rima Jabado, 38, is determined to save sharks in the Arab region and remind us how sharks are invaluable to the marine ecosystem.

A lifelong passion with marine life

Rima Jabado admits that she is a geek; “I’ve been obsessed with sharks since I was a kid.” While most children dreamt of becoming dolphin trainers or small animal veterinarians, Rima was reading all about these lurking predators, spurred on by the film Jaws. She claims, “I didn't choose my job. It chose me."

Her family moved to Greece after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. Jabado recalls seeing sharks for sale at supermarkets, piquing a lifelong curiosity. She focused on conservation policy, studying political science and applied science in Canada and Australia. She also holds a PhD in Environmental Science and Ecology and has now authored/co-authored over 40 scientific, technical, and popular publications, lectured at schools and universities, and appeared in radio and television productions.

"When I tell people about my job, they are shocked at first but then think it's one of the coolest jobs in the world," she says. However, she spends most of her time at fish markets, working up dead animals, writing grant proposals, and meeting with government officials and fishermen to negotiate management measures.

With plans to remain in the UAE for the foreseeable future, Jabado is teaming up with shark experts around the world on education initiatives and training workshops. It is a hard task, though. She acknowledges, “The fishermen are fishing because they need to eat. We cannot just tell them, 'Stop eating, stop feeding your family’ because someone else has destroyed the environment.”

But something has to be done. More than 50 percent of sharks, rays and chimaeras in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and northern Arabian Sea are at elevated risk of extinction.
 

Sharks play a vital role in ocean ecology

Globally, up to 100 million sharks are killed yearly due to high levels of legal and illegal fishing, with some countries even using their fins and oils to cook up shark fin soup. All around the world the result of this human intervention is that there has been a shift in dominance in the ecosystem – when the big sharks are removed, one ends up with small ones. And sharks play a crucial role in maintaining the health of our oceans and the diversity of life on Earth.

Hence, Jabado tries to educate people about sharks’ vital role in ocean ecology. Her latest project, the Conservation Status of Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras in the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters, has been funded by Save Our Seas and Saudi Abdulmohsen Abdulmalik Al-Sheikh, who has been dedicated to protecting marine life for over a decade now. He agrees with Jabado that “As long as there are people who care, we can and will make a difference.”

Source: www.gulfelasmoproject.com