UAE: How this royal went from fearing the sea to becoming 'Turtle Sheikh'

At twelve, Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan bin Khalid Al Qasimi learned to surf, sail, and dive. Before that, he feared the ocean. “I used to fear the ocean, but now I feel like the water keeps calling me back,” he told Khaleej Times during a visit to Jumeirah Thanda Island in Tanzania, part of a press trip highlighting marine conservation and sustainability.

For four days, Sheikh Fahim, executive chairman of the Department of Government Relations, Sharjah, took us through his journey from fearing the sea to becoming one of its strongest advocates, earning him the nickname 'The Turtle Sheikh'.

When he was asked what had overcome his fear, he said it was the ‘power’ of the ocean. “It was the power of it,” he said. “When I caught my first wave, I realised I was walking on water.”

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His story with the ocean was just the beginning, as a lifelong connection began, one that deepened further when he met Farah, the turtle he rescued in 2021.“It was a regular day; I was out on the ocean with friends when I saw her,” he recalled. “She was swimming strangely, and I instantly knew something was wrong.”

Diving six metres underwater, Sheikh Fahim realised he needed to do something. Coming to the surface for another breath, he dived again. That was when he found that a plastic bag had wrapped tightly around Farah’s flipper.

He brought Farah to the surface and rushed her to the Jumeirah Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Dubai. The injury was so severe that Farah’s flipper had to be amputated. She spent nine months at the centre before being released back into the sea with a tracking device.

Sheikh Fahim taking a dive. Photo: Eric Micotto, supplied by Sheikh Fahim.

Sheikh Fahim told the story that went viral and led to him being named ‘Turtle Sheikh’. “I actually thought she would have to stay in the centre her whole life, but she was strong enough to go back to her natural place, the ocean.”

When Khaleej Times asked Sheikh Fahim if the tracking device is for life, he said that “we can’t track turtles for life”.

“The battery lasts around nine months to a year; sometimes they fall off, but during that time we learn so much about how turtles travel and migrate.”

When Sheikh Fahim posted about his story with Farah, people started gaining awareness and would call him when they would come across an injured turtle. 

“Everyone keeps calling me: ‘Hey Fahim, we found this turtle, what do we do?’” he said. That inspired him to launch the 800TURTLE hotline; a toll-free number in the UAE for reporting injured or distressed sea turtles. This line is used to connect people with the Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Programme or other local organisations for quick rescue and rehabilitation.

“My job is to give the turtles a voice,” he added.

Before Farah, there was Tiago, a smaller turtle found tangled in another plastic bag. “We were in the right place at the right time,” he said. “It took me about 15 minutes to cut it away. The poor little turtle thought the bag was a jellyfish and was trying to eat it. But Tiago was strong enough to be released right away.”

His role has since expanded to schools, where he speaks to children about ocean awareness. “Seventy per cent of our planet is the ocean,” he said. “I wanted young people to understand their responsibility towards the ocean.”

For him, passion and privilege go hand in hand. “The biggest privilege I have is caring deeply about something and being in a position to do something about it,” he said.

Sheikh Fahim now serves as an ambassador for the Jumeirah Turtle Rehabilitation Project, which operates out of one of Dubai’s most luxurious hotels. “When they asked me to join, I told them I would do it on one condition — that I would contribute,” he said.

In a four-day trip from October 13 to 17, at Jumeirah Thanda Island, he saw the same conservation model being applied to hospitality. “The most impressive thing is how Jumeirah created a model that gives guests a beautiful experience while protecting the marine life around it,” he said. “Now we are looking at places like Muscat, the Maldives, and Thanda Island to expand this approach. The world can learn a lot from it.”

During his stay, Sheikh Fahim swam with whale sharks for the first time. “Seeing it up close made me realise how beautiful it is as a creature, but also how small we are in the ocean,” he said. “To float weightlessly beside such a gentle giant is something I’ll never forget.”

Back home, his message remains simple: respect the sea. “You have to understand that you’re in somebody else’s home,” he said. “That’s what I teach my kids — we’re guests in their space. You need to be aware and respectful of that.”

He added that he still listens closely to experts when diving. “I’m still learning. I always ask the marine biologists what I should or shouldn’t do.”

For Sheikh Fahim, Thanda Island symbolises the future of responsible tourism. “This is exactly the point,” he said. “We can take something as exciting as travel and hospitality and bring it together with real impact, especially for the more vulnerable creatures. I think the world can learn from that.”

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