Yeap, that's true Eric, HOPE is the word.
First of all, I'm glad to read what everyone has to say here and there are those who wish to take actions but feels like they're unable to do so. My only response to that is "DON'T BE". Anyone can do their bid to help, and although just giving talks might not feel that effective, to lead by example is another step.
I may not be like Prof. Chan of Turtle Conservation Centre, or Dr. Juanita Joseph of UMT's Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) or an official from Department of Fisheries. However, I have been involved in sea turtle conservation since my 1st year in marine biology studies in UMT back in 2005, and am now in the position to lead a newly registered ngo in Malaysia that focus on sea turtle conservation, Help Our Penyu (HOPE).
I know people tend to get confused of what's legal and what's not with the sea turtle eggs, so I'll clarify here. Continuing from where Eddy have said, one would need to acquire the license to collect these eggs. In Malacca, the license is open for anyone to sign up and pay for. In Terengganu, they follow the bidding system which means the licenses are granted to those who offer 'good' bids (
I have yet to find out more about this, but hopefully one of their officers will clarify this to me on our follow-up meeting this coming Wednesday). At the same time, the laws in which is passed by the Federal Government does not necessarily apply to the state because each state is governed by their own set of laws. So in Malaysia, the legislation passed by the National Parliament that protects the turtle is the Fishereis Act 1985 (Act 317), while in Terengganu they have the Turtles Enactment 1951 (Amendments 1987 & 1989). None of the laws state that one must send the eggs to the hatchery because these legislations respect the right to one person to consume the egg (which I find it interesting considering Islam doesn't encourage Muslims to consume an animal that can exist in
two worlds).
Other than turtle egg consumption, there's also the issue on fisheries impact, which can be seen on turtles getting caught in the fishing nets or the fish hooks from longline fishing. Fisheries impact is considered as the second biggest threat to the turtles after egg consumption, and of course, there are other threatening factors such as coastal development and pollution. By pollution, this is referred to floating marine debris and oil spill.
As Tulip noticed, there's the "Walk for Turtles" event, which is actually a survey that is organized through HOPE. Dan and I met an officer from the Department of Fisheries Terengganu back in June 2009 and disclosed that the state does not hold any accurate information on the number of turtle nestings on the coastline of Terengganu. This led us to plan up the Walk for Turtles where last year we walked from Dungun to Perhentian. This year, we're extending the walk from Cherating, Pahang to all the way up north to Perhentian. Yes, this is tiring, but hey, someone has got to do it. Plus, it's a good workout.
Anyway, if you guys wanna find out more about HOPE, then you can visit our website at
www.helpourpenyu.com and check out our Facebook group page (
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136694617086) and fanpage (
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Our-Penyu-empowering-the-Malaysian-public/204699397310). Of course, you can follow us on twitter at @HelpOurPenyu (
http://twitter.com/#!/HelpOurPenyu).
Owh yeah, Eddy, the price ya put up is kinda old already. Now they're selling 3 eggs for RM10 in Terengganu & Kelantan now.
References:
Fisheries Act 1985 (ACT 317)http://www.agc.gov.my/Akta/Vol.%207/Act%20317.pdfSurvey of Marine Turtle Egg Consumption and Trade in Malaysiahttp://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=6&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fassets.wwfmalaysia.inga.bluegecko.net%2Fdownloads%2Fsurvey_of_marine_turtle_egg_consumption_and_trade_in_malays.pdf&ei=S1AoTeqKGITsrAeSgrXCDA&usg=AFQjCNEDNcPk8o79YbYGcNXvzt5HiOKYdQChemical Contamination of Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Eggs in Peninsular Malaysia: Implications for Conservation and Public Healthhttp://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action;jsessionid=E930815A95549167FDBB9D9DB949E315?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.0900813Fisher profiles and perceptions of sea turtle-fishery interactions: case study of East Coast Peninsular Malaysiahttp://econpapers.repec.org/bookchap/wfiwfbook/37497.htm
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