on Malaysian turtles

[Guest guest]

Cover Story

Where turtles fear to breed

By Sarah Sabaratnam sarah_s

 

April 23: LAST year, there were only 28 leatherback turtle nests in Rantau

Abang, Terengganu, during the entire breeding season - a site that used to

see up to 50 leatherback landings per day between March and August every

year.

 

It was a sad statistic to put down in our records (what with leatherbacks

being a symbol synonymous with the State and more importantly, Rantau Abang)

but not nearly as sad as the fact that none of the eggs from the 28 nests

ever hatched.

 

According to studies and innovative satellite telemetry tracking data, each

turtle returns to the same beach about five to six times during the breeding

season, laying about 100 eggs in each cluster. Do some simple math and it

can be deduced that only six or seven leatherbacks returned to Rantau Abang

last year.

 

Kamarruddin Ibrahim, director of the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre in

Rantau Abang (which is under the Fisheries Department) says this is due to

mistakes made 30 to 40 years ago.

 

" Heat determines the gender of the hatchling. Unfortunately at that time, we

did not know this. Only in 1985 did research in Australia prove it. "

 

Prior to that, eggs were collected and put in hatcheries left in the sun.

Thus only females emerged.

 

Mating takes place in the coast just off the shores where the eggs are laid,

during the breeding season. If no males return to the coast, the females end

up laying their eggs without having them fertilised first. This is why the

eggs did not produce hatchlings.

 

A single mistake has had such a big impact on the leatherback population in

Rantau Abang.

 

Add to that one mistake these other obstacles: only one out of 10,000 turtle

hatchlings is said to make it to adulthood; the prevalent slaughter of

marine turtles in international waters for meat, leather and shell; the

stealing of their eggs for local consumption; the loss of habitat;

over-development of coastal areas which reduce their natural nesting areas;

irresponsible fishing with trawl nets and fish bombing that destroy corals

and vegetation which turtles feed on; accidental captures and accidents

involving fishing equipment; marine pollution and beach disturbances.

 

Turtles may have survived for millions of years (the latest turtle fossil

discovered is 150 million years old), but now, their numbers are being

drastically reduced.

 

If turtles are threatened, so are a variety of other factors that depend on

them.

 

For instance, turtles have huge tourism potential in Terengganu but if no

more turtles return to nest, the State will lose revenue. Alternatively if

turtles are protected and efforts made to increase their population, we will

reap long-term benefits.

 

Turtle eggs are also a popular delicacy in many countries but if turtles

disappear forever, there will be no more eggs to consume. Thus reducing the

amount of turtle eggs sold in markets will help stabilise the population

nesting in a certain area for generations to come.

 

It is important that coastlines where turtles return to nest be left

undisturbed. Turtles are shy animals which will not come to a beach that is

occupied or bright with lights.

 

It has to be relatively secluded.

 

Says Kamarruddin, " It is a fact that light disturbs nesting females and

disorientates hatchlings.”

 

Hatchlings by nature move towards light. Ideally, the horizon beyond the sea

should be brightest, drawing hatchlings to the sea. But lights from

elsewhere lure the hatchlings away from the sea and increase the risk of

them being eaten by predators. Which is precisely why trees and hills that

surround such a beach should also be protected, to maintain the ecological

balance as well as to protect the beach from the intrusion of light, noise

and humans.

 

Kamarruddin feels the need for more turtle sanctuaries to be gazetted as

protected areas under State laws. At present Rantau Abang is the only place

in Peninsular Malaysia gazetted as such.

 

Traffic Network, which is the wildlife trade monitoring programme for the

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the World Conservation Union, believes

that legislation establishing and implementing Protected Areas is essential

for the survival of turtle populations and other organisms in their natural

habitat.

 

“These laws must be implemented to the maximum extent and expanded where

appropriate. Restraining or preventing infrastructure development in the

remaining natural areas will reduce accessibility and consequently reduce

the exploitation pressure for trade and subsistence.”

 

The legislation in Malaysia is also currently too lenient compared with some

foreign laws.

 

For instance, Federal laws in Malaysia through the Fisheries Act 1985

protects turtles from exploitation only while they are in the waters. Once

they emerge onto the beach, it is considered a State matter.

 

The Terengganu Turtle Enactment, 1989 states that with a permit, locals are

allowed to collect eggs at certain beaches.

 

Comparatively, sea turtles in Florida are protected through Florida

Statutes, Chapter 370, and by the United States Endangered Species Act of

1973. Briefly, these laws state that: “No person may take, harass, harm,

pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture... marine turtles, turtle

nests, and/or turtle eggs.”

 

It is further stated that “Any person who knowingly violates any provision

of the Act may be assessed civil penalties up to US$25,000 (RM95,000) or a

criminal penalty up to US$50,000 and up to one year imprisonment.”

 

Given that the leatherback and hawksbill turtles are critically endangered

and that the green and Olive Ridley ones are endangered, we really should be

doing more to protect them

 

According to Dr Dionysious Sharma, Head of WWF’s species conservation unit,

turtles are vital in maintaining a balance in the ecosystem.

 

“Turtles feed on the topmost layer of certain corals that contain sting

cells. For some reason they don’t seem to be affected by the sting while

other marine animals are. When the turtles remove this top layer by eating

them, it opens the way for fish and other marine species to feed on the

corals. Thus the populations of these animals are also dependent on the

turtles.”

 

Also, he says, in areas where there is an abundance of turtle landings,

there are many predators that feed on turtle eggs and hatchlings to survive.

The loss of turtle populations will affect predators such as coast crabs,

birds, wild dogs, monitor lizards, wild cats and bigger fish.

 

According to the Caribbean Conservation Corporation and Sea Turtle Survival

League, the danger of losing one species after another is that it erodes the

diversity of life on earth, and a loss of diversity can make all life

vulnerable.

 

“Much can be learned about the condition of the planet’s environment by

looking at sea turtles. They have existed for over 100 million years, and

they travel throughout the world’s oceans. Suddenly, however, they are

struggling to survive — largely because of things people are doing to the

planet’s oceans and beaches. But what does this mean for the human species?”

 

“It is possible that a world in which sea turtles cannot survive may soon

become a world in which humans struggle to survive.”

 

Continuation " Turtle beach haven. " Sarah Sabaratnam makes a case for

gazetting Ma' Daerah beach in Terenggany as a sanctuary for turtles. To

view the story go to www.nst.com.my - click for results from News Archive

for the year 2000 - 200l.

 

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