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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
A huge water-themed resort rises on Dubai's coast.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
In winter young whale sharks come to feed on plankton in the nutrient-rich waters of the Gulf of Tadjoura, off the arid coast of Djibouti. The world's largest fish—weighing more than an elephant—is becoming a symbol of Arabia's bountiful, but largely unprotected, marine heritage.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
Arabian surgeonfish—named for a pair of orange, needle-sharp "scalpels" near the tail—joust for territorial possession on a coral reef in the Red Sea. During combat they fling themselves at each other, trying to slash fins or flanks. Once the battle is decided, the victor returns to grazing its algal patch.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
Highly venomous—but not aggressive to humans—sea snakes are common in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. They feed on small fish such as gobies, sometimes entering their burrows in the seabed to snag the occupant. Sea snakes can remain underwater for up to two hours before surfacing to breathe.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
A relic of the Iran-Iraq war, this oil tanker was scuttled near the Kuwait-Iraq border on Saddam Hussein's orders, to block access by sea to southern Iraq. Kuwaiti authorities are reluctant to remove the vessel for fear of damaging the wetlands of nearby Bubiyan Island, an important fish nursery and seabird breeding ground.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
Rarely visited, the reefs off Saudi Arabia in the northern Red Sea are some of the most undisturbed in the region. Sunlight penetrates deep into the clear waters, enabling lush gardens of corals to flourish along these wave-washed coasts.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
At dozens of fishing depots along Oman's 1,300-mile coast, the daily catch of sharks and other fish is iced and loaded into trucks bound for Dubai. Some scientists fear that Asian demand for shark fins may destroy certain local populations, including hammerheads, bulls, and blacktips.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
A pharaoh cuttlefish releases a plume of ink as it is stabbed by a diver at the Daymaniyat Islands Nature Reserve, not far from Oman's capital of Muscat. Net fishing on these protected coral reefs is prohibited, but other methods are allowed, including the traditional use of long-handled hooks to catch cuttlefish.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
Juvenile Socotra cormorants find a cramped resting spot beneath the crags of Oman's Musandam Peninsula. Long known as the anvil head, Musandam is promoted today as the Norway of Arabia because its deeply incised inlets resemble fjords.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
The ordeal of nesting over for another year, a loggerhead turtle paddles into the surf of Oman's Masira Island. The island is a critical breeding area for this endangered species. As the turtles return to the sea, they must evade a gantlet of fishing nets.
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Photograph by Thomas P. Peschak
Fishermen's lights attract plankton, and plankton attract young whale sharks in Djibouti's coastal waters. In 2008 the United Arab Emirates banned whale shark fishing—a sign of growing awareness of the importance and vulnerability of Arabia's seas.
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