http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/295257/1/.html

M'sia famed Trengganu turtle beach sees no nestings so far this year
By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Correspondent Melissa Goh | Posted: 21 August 2007 2300 hrs

KUALA LUMPUR : The leatherback turtle population in Malaysia has collapsed, with not a single nesting sighted so far this year, despite ongoing conservation efforts.

The eastern Terengganu coast in Malaysia used to be one of the largest nesting sites for the endangered leatherback turtle in the world, where thousands of female leatherbacks - having crossed the Pacific Ocean - return to the place they were born.

In the last two decades, their numbers have dwindled drastically.

Last season saw just two nests on the beach, and this year, there's been none sighted so far.

This is in spite of strict laws protecting nesting sites and efforts to build hatcheries.

"It's difficult to get the leatherbacks to return. They've become almost extinct. How can we breed them when we can hardly find their eggs," said Arifin Embong, Official, Local Fisheries Department.

Conservationists and wildlife experts were in Malaysia recently and called for an immediate action plan to halt the decline.

They blame global climate change, egg harvesting and increased coastal fishing for upsetting the turtles' breeding habits.

"There has been a lot of fishing, so turtles have been caught in hooks and nets. Also, people have been eating more of the eggs, so what we are trying to do is to make everybody aware of what's going on and to get them onboard to save the leatherbacks," said Kitty Simonds, Executive Director, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.

Experts said the number of leatherback turtles in the Pacific has fallen to just 5,000, from over 90,000 in 1980.

While efforts are ongoing to protect nesting sites and boost hatching production not just in Malaysia but also across Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and the Solomon Islands, experts said a long-term fund-raising plan is very much needed to secure funding from both the public and private sectors to ensure the success of the rescue programmes over the next 20 years. - CNA /ls

Thanks for the info timyang.. it's a sad story indeed.. i used to remember back in the days Rantau Abang was a really famous place.. now it's pretty much abandoned already since no longer turtles head there to lay eggs.. heck the state government even dropped the turtle as the state's official mascot already ... 

Bonjour,

Very very sad indeed. I still remember some 18 years ago when I went looking for turtle landings....and saw none even then.... searched the coast from Cherating to Dungun..... surprisingly though, there are turtle eggs on sale at KT market. Last I saw was in May....And why is the MPKT not taking action on these traders?

What can we do?

The problem with our local authority is that we are lacking of enforcement. suffice said 

Quote from: jgshuwei on August 22, 2007, 04:18:30 PM

What can we do?

Bonsoir jhshuwei,

Unfortunately nothing for the eggs because the moment they are lifted from where they were laid and the temperature change, their DNA sequencing stops. So even f you buy those eggs and want to try to hatch them, its too late.

The problem with enforcement is that every government agency seems to think it is not their job. MPKT says theirs is only to licence the traders and these traders do have licence, except its not for penyu eggs. The police will not act unless there is a complaint, and even then, the AG's Chambers will think that prosecuting these traders is a waste of time for a misdemeanour offence. Even judges will say their time are better spent resolving major cases than preside over such triviality as penyu eggs.

Meanwhile, the trade goes on....

We are lacking on the law enforcement. Those people are too comfortable on their seats. If these keep going, I wouldnt be surprised if the quality of our marine's life will be decreasing tremendously. 

Bonjour,

Very very sad indeed. I still remember some 18 years ago when I went looking for turtle landings....and saw none even then.... searched the coast from Cherating to Dungun..... surprisingly though, there are turtle eggs on sale at KT market. Last I saw was in May....And why is the MPKT not taking action on these traders?

On turtle egg collection:

In Redang, a number of "egg collecting licenses" are still issued to the locals, every year. Something to do with the "rights" of the locals or something to do with their "mata pencarian" (this info also from Kustem). So a number of families in Redang are allowed to collect turtle eggs every year and every year, they rotate the licenses between the families there. Sometimes, KUSTEM would spend some of their "turtle conservation" budget to actually buy back some of the eggs from the locals, to be re-nested at their conservation site in Chagar Hutang (Turtle Bay) but they can't buy back all the eggs due to lack of fund. So the eggs end up in Pasar Payang in KT, eventually.

The authorities in Terengganu cannot act as these eggs were obtained legally. At least that's what I was told...whether this is wholly true or not, only the sellers and suppliers know.

Quote from: scorpenesub on August 22, 2007, 04:08:18 PM

Bonjour,
Very very sad indeed. I still remember some 18 years ago when I went looking for turtle landings....and saw none even then.... searched the coast from Cherating to Dungun..... surprisingly though, there are turtle eggs on sale at KT market. Last I saw was in May....And why is the MPKT not taking action on these traders?

On turtle egg collection:
In Redang, a number of "egg collecting licenses" are still issued to the locals, every year. Something to do with the "rights" of the locals or something to do with their "mata pencarian" (this info also from Kustem). So a number of families in Redang are allowed to collect turtle eggs every year and every year, they rotate the licenses between the families there. Sometimes, KUSTEM would spend some of their "turtle conservation" budget to actually buy back some of the eggs from the locals, to be re-nested at their conservation site in Chagar Hutang (Turtle Bay) but they can't buy back all the eggs due to lack of fund. So the eggs end up in Pasar Payang in KT, eventually.

The authorities in Terengganu cannot act as these eggs were obtained legally. At least that's what I was told...whether this is wholly true or not, only the sellers and suppliers know.

Hi Halimi,

Thanks for the useful update. Now I see the link.....and why those eggs are where they are..... 

thanks for the info bro.
i fill so sad already.
are you guys sure there's nothing we can do about it?

Time to start a MUW fund for turtle conservation to buy back turtle eggs during teh tarik sessions.

The Centre for Turtle Research and Conservation is also looking for funding for these projects:

# Tagging and nesting research on the sea turtles of Pulau Redang. This project was initiated in 1993 in Pulau Redang and is now continued as a longterm on-going project.  It was supported by IRPA funding under the 6th Malaysia Plan and is now supported by funds generated from donations made by private corporations, international schools and the public.

# In-situ incubation of green turtle eggs in Redang Island.  This project is also supported by funds generated from donations made by private corporations, international schools and the public.

http://www.umt.edu.my/ctrec/major_projects.htm

If you guys wanna help turtle conservation effort in Redang, I suggest, sign up as a volunteer for the conservation programme organised by SEATRU (Sea Turtle Research Unit) at UMT. I did a few years back with a couple of friends and it was fun and very educational.

The website is here: http://www.umt.edu.my/seatru/ .

You'll be staying for about a week at Chagar Hutang / Turtle Bay and will help the researchers to their conservation tasks there like keeping watch of turtle landings, keeping stats of the turtle nests and number of eggs, protecting the nests, transferring nests, releasing newly hatched baby turtles to the sea etc. Plus lots of free time to go snorkeling in Turtle Bay. Trust me, its really rewarding.

Most importantly, you learn new stuffs about turtles, for example, their survival rate is only 1 out of 1000 meaning out of 1000 hatchlings, only 1 will survive to adulthood. I saw on their website that the price for the 1 week program has increased from RM350 (that was like 4 years ago), to RM500 per person nowadays. Inflation I guess.

Give it a try. The principal researcher at UMT is Dr Chan, a very nice person, very passionate about turtle conservation.

 

     

So sad to heard this, hope they can find a better place to lay egg.

quoted from the star
Hunting expedition foiled, 25 turtles saved

MIRI: The maritime enforcement agencies in Sarawak have foiled an illegal turtle-hunting expedition by a group of foreign fishing vessels in the South China Sea offshore Miri.

The various enforcement agencies, made up of the Marine Fisheries, Customs, Maritime Department and the marine police have rescued some 25 turtles of various species from six foreign trawlers, two from China, three from Vietnam and one from Thailand over the past 48 hours.

An assortment of sea creatures were seized from the ships, including more than 40 turtles and tortoises.

Some 25 live turtles were also rescued from huge tanks that were built into the ship's compartments.

A big amount of slaughtered turtles were discovered in a frozen compartment, and quite a number of dried turtles and shells were also recovered.

The authorities on Monday afternoon towed the trawlers into the Miri River. Some 66 Chinese crew members and 22 Vietnamese have been detained for further investigations.

Northern Sarawak maritime chief Muhammad Abdul Basar said the rescued turtles have been thrown back into the sea so that they could survive.

''This is the biggest seizure of its kind this year offshore Sarawak. We will continue with active patrol in our exclusive economic zone to prevent further incidents of illegal encroachment,'' he said.

The area where the ships were found is about 120km offshore from Miri.

It is believed that some of the turtles that were slaughtered may be from endangered species, like the leatherbacks.

Crap!! Thanks for the article, Mocha...

Sigh sigh sigh

Who to be blame? Many local ppl like to eat turtle's egg. Can they stop doing so? My ex-boss can eat 100 eggs in one go. 

Was in K.Terangganu last two weeks.  Upon coming back from redang we stop to have lunch at a local shop,and guess what....we were served turtle eggs......

did u eat it???