Bernama 25 Dec 09;
SANDAKAN, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- A study to determine the turtle population in feeding ground areas has been conducted at the Tun Sakaran Marine Park and Sipadan Islands in Semporna from Sept 29 until Oct 12 this year.
The study, the first in the country, was conducted by a group of researchers from the Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, led by Dr Juanita Joseph.
Dr Juanita said blood samples of 69 Green turtles and nine Hawksbill turtles were taken for the study, adding that the turtles were marked before they were released.
"The marking of the turtles was done in the feeding ground for long-term observation and monitoring," she told Bernama here.
She said similar studies had been conducted in Australia and the United States of America.
The study was important to aid efforts for turtle conservation, as well as identify feeding grounds which are threatened by fishing activities, she added.
Dr Juanita said the outcome of the study would be presented in a working paper on strategy to address illegal catching of turtles in Malaysian waters and the Indo-Pacific region.
-- BERNAMA
Friday, December 25, 2009
Study On Turtle Population In Feeding Grounds In Semporna
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas with the leatherbacks
Want to know where Noelle and Darwinia—two intrepid adult female leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) that nest in Gabon—are spending their Christmas? Researchers at the University of Exeter in the U.K. have made it easy by launching a new Web site on Wednesday that uses satellite tracking technology to monitor the turtles' movements off the coast of west central Africa.
The turtles are each traveling solo but have logged about 1,287 kilometers between them since the researchers began tracking on December 7. The transmitters allow the researchers to determine the turtles' positions when they surface to breathe.
The story of Noelle and Darwinia is more a story of survival than of their progress, as the waters around Gabon are increasingly subject to industrial fishing, pollution and oil exploitation, particularly from nations outside western Africa, including countries in Europe, according to the researchers. "It is only by having detailed information on where these creatures go that we can try to protect them," Exeter postdoctoral researcher Matthew Witt said in a prepared statement.
During three nesting seasons, scientists conducted land and aerial surveys along Gabon's 600-kilometer coast, estimating that a population of up to 41,373 female turtles uses the nesting beaches. Gathering information about leatherbacks when they are at sea is not as easy, given that they are the deepest diving of all sea turtles. Researchers have recorded dives of up to 1.2 kilometers, on par with the dives of sperm whales.
Leatherbacks—the largest of all sea turtles, generally measuring up to nearly two meters long and weighing up to 540 kilograms—saw their population in the Indo-Pacific region diminish by more than 90 percent in the 1980s and 1990s. Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) issued a report (pdf) last week indicating that leatherbacks (along with the Artic fox and koala) are "the species destined to be hardest hit by climate change," the Exeter researchers say there is a lack of information about their populations in much of the Atlantic, especially near Africa.
The IUCN reports that the "critically endangered" turtles are being affected by rising sea levels and increased storm activity due to climate change destroying their nesting habitats on beaches. Temperature increases may also lead to a reduction in the proportion of males relative to females. The sex of leatherbacks is determined by the temperature of eggs during incubation. With leatherbacks, temperatures above 29 degrees Celsius result in female hatchlings.
The Exeter researchers are working with Gabon's government and a number of NGOs working there, including the Wildlife Conservation Society and Seaturtle.org, to learn more about the leatherbacks' movements.
"Over the Christmas period we will follow their movements with great interest with the hope that the information we gather can feed into truly useful approaches to help promote the protection of the species," Witt said.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
For giant turtles, beach offers a precarious start to life
POINTE DENIS, Gabon — After two hours of scouring the beaches of Pongara National Park in the dark night, Joan Ikoun-Ngossa and his patrol finally find a leatherback turtle.
It has just laid its eggs and is struggling awkwardly back to the sea.
For its young, however, there is just a one in a thousand chance of making it to adulthood, thanks to a deadly combination of humans, natural predators, pollution and sometimes sheer bad luck.
With the help of a light -- coloured red, so as not to dazzle or upset the turtle -- Ikoun-Ngossa of Aventures Sans Frontieres (ASF -- Adventures Without Borders) climbs onto the animal to take measurements.
It comes in at 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) long and 1.11 metres wide.
The leatherback is the world's largest species of turtle -- they can live for up to 80 years and reach 2.4 metres in length. However, it is critically endangered.
After measuring the turtle, Ikoun-Ngossa attaches a ring on its back leg to track its progress after it leaves the Gabonese coast.
Clumsy and awkward on land, the turtle disappears in a few strokes once it reaches the water, leaving behind great crawl marks in the sand like the tyre tracks of a four-wheel-drive.
During the two-month egg-laying season, beginning in October, the turtles scramble onto the beach at night, dig a hole, lay their eggs inside and cover them with sand before departing again.
The whole process takes a little less than two hours.
The females lay between 50 and 120 eggs, and one in three is a "dud", with no embryo inside, says Ikoun-Ngossa, a former boatman who now works to protect his country's wildlife.
"The dud eggs are part of the nest. They contribute to regulate the airflow and temperature, and no doubt nature probably intended them as a kind of decoy for predators," he says.
There is no shortage of predators: monitor lizards, crabs and birds, which are all part of the natural order, but also humans, who sometimes find and eat the eggs, and dogs which dig them up.
"Of a thousand eggs laid, we estimate that only one will survive to become an adult turtle," said Angela Formia of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Ikoun-Ngossa stays on the Pongara beaches from October to April to try to improve the eggs' chances of survival.
"If the turtle lays below the waterline, the eggs have no chance so we take those ones and put them in a special enclosure" further up the beach, he said. This makeshift "maternity ward" is currently host to more than 300 eggs.
After two or three months, the eggs hatch and the baby turtles, just a few centimetres long, crawl toward the sea, where many are eaten by birds, sharks and other predators.
"Currently there are around 40,000 females which come to Gabon, and this is the largest leatherback turtle population in the world," Formia said.
Females lay their eggs every two or three years, Ikoun-Ngossa explains, and study of the tracking devices has shown one turtle can lay up to three batches of eggs in ten days before swimming off again.
Knowledge of the turtles' lives outside these laying periods is limited.
"The data shows they move to the cold waters in the middle of the Atlantic and to the south," Formia said. "A number have been recorded off the coast of Brazil and Argentina."
Leatherback turtles play a big role in traditional Gabonese stories. Legend has it they overcame leopards, snakes and crocodiles through their cunning.
Today, many observers believe the leatherback turtle is facing extinction unless more is done to safeguard their welfare.
They say the biggest threat to their survival comes not from predators but from man-made pollution, in particular plastic bags which turtles mistake for jellyfish -- their main diet.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
PLAYA GRANDE, Costa Rica — This resort town was long known forLeatherback Sea Turtle National Park, nightly turtle beach tours and even a sea turtle museum. So Kaja Michelson, a Swedish tourist, arrived with high expectations. “Of course we’re hoping to see turtles — that is part of the appeal,” she said.
But haphazard development, in tandem with warmer temperatures and rising seas that many scientists link to global warming, have vastly diminished thePacific turtle population.
On a beach where dozens of turtles used to nest on a given night, scientists spied only 32 leatherbacks all of last year. With leatherbacks threatened with extinction, Playa Grande’s expansive turtle museum was abandoned three years ago and now sits amid a sea of weeds. And the beachside ticket booth for turtle tours was washed away by a high tide in September.
“We do not promote this as a turtle tourism destination anymore because we realize there are far too few turtles to please,” said Álvaro Fonseca, a park ranger.
Even before scientists found temperatures creeping upward over the past decade, sea turtles were threatened by beach development, drift net fishing and Costa Ricans’ penchant for eating turtle eggs, considered a delicacy here. But climate change may deal the fatal blow to an animal that has dwelled in the Pacific for 150 million years.
Sea turtles are sensitive to numerous effects of warming. They feed on reefs, which are dying in hotter, more acidic seas. They lay eggs on beaches that are being inundated by rising seas and more violent storm surges.
More uniquely, their gender is determined not by genes but by the egg’s temperature during development. Small rises in beach temperatures can result in all-female populations, obviously problematic for survival.
“The turtles are very good storytellers about the effect of climate change on coastal habitats,” said Carlos Drews, the regional marine species coordinator for the conservation group W.W.F. “The climate is changing so much faster than before, and these animals depend on so much for temperature.”
If the sand around the eggs hits 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), the gender balance shifts to females, Mr. Drews said, and at about 32 degrees (89.6 Fahrenheit) they are all female. Above 34 (93), “you get boiled eggs,” he said.
On some nesting beaches, scientists are artificially cooling nests with shade or irrigation and trying to protect broader areas of coastal property from development to ensure that turtles have a place to nest as the seas rise.
In places like Playa Junquillal, an hour south of here, local youths are paid $2 a night to scoop up newly laid eggs and move them to a hatchery where they are shaded and irrigated to maintain a nest temperature of 29.7 degrees Celsius (85.4), which will yield both genders.
On a recent night, Dennis Gómez Jiménez, a 22-year-old in a red baseball cap and jeans, deftly excavated the nest of a three-foot-wide Olive Ridley, one of the smaller sea turtle species. The turtle had just finished the hourlong task of burying 100-plus eggs and then lumbered back into the water.
One by one, Mr. Jiménez placed what looked like table tennis balls into a plastic bag and transferred them to an ersatz nest he had dug in a shaded, fenced-off portion of sand that serves as a hatchery. Sandbags are positioned to protect against tides that could rip nests apart.
When the turtles hatch, in 40 to 60 days depending on the species, they are carried in wicker baskets to the ocean’s edge and make a beeline for the water. Gabriel Francia, a biologist who oversees the youths, known locally as the “baula” or leatherback boys, likens their work to delivering an endangered infant by Caesarean section.
“In some ways we’re playing God — this is a big experiment,” he said. The long-term hope, he said, is to build a robust turtle population that will slowly adapt by shifting to cooler, more northern beaches or laying eggs at cooler times of the year.
Worldwide, there are seven sea turtle species, and all are considered threatened. (Turtle populations in the Atlantic have increased over the last 20 years because of measures like bans on trapping turtles and selling their parts.)
The leatherback is considered critically endangered on a global level. Populations are especially depleted in the Pacific, where only 2,000 to 3,000 are estimated to survive today, down from around 90,000 two decades ago. Cooler sands alone will not save them, given the scope of the threats they face. At Playa Junquillal, markers placed a decade ago to mark a point 55 yards above the high tide line are now frequently underwater.
“It’s happened really fast — we have no rain, but water pouring in from the ocean,” said Adriana Miranda, 30, the manager of a local hangout that serves beer and rice and beans.
Beachside tables have been removed because rising tides have destroyed the restaurant’s concrete terrace and uprooted shading trees there. In different circumstances, the beaches could gradually extend backward as the sea level rose. But along much of Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, the back of the beach is now filled with hotels, restaurants and planted trees, giving the sand no place to go. “The squeezing of the beaches where turtles nest is going to be a big problem,” said Carl Safina, head of the Blue Ocean Institute, a conservation group.
In Playa Grande, the turtle issue has pitted environmentalists against developers and the national government. To ensure a future for the leatherbacks and the national park, biologists wanted a large section of land extending about 140 yards back from the current high-tide line protected from development. Beachfront property owners, many of them foreigners with vacation homes, demanded hefty compensation.
Arguing that the government cannot afford the payouts, President Óscar Arias has instead proposed protecting the first 55 yards, and allowing about 80 yards of somewhat regulated mixed-use development to the rear. But Costa Rica’s leading scientists have protestedthat the new boundaries will lead to “certain extinction.”
Turtles will not nest if there are lights behind the beach, Mr. Drews said, and those first 55 yards will be underwater by midcentury.
“Turtles will have to find their way between the tennis courts and swimming pools,” he said dryly.
In a country where turtle eggs are traditionally slurped in bars from a shot glass, uncooked and mixed with salsa and lemon, biologists are also promoting cultural change.
“Of course 25 years ago, you went out with your friends or family and dug up the eggs,” said Héctor García, 42, shopping at the Junquillal market. “It was a tradition. They are delicious, cooked or raw.”
Today egg collecting is illegal in Costa Rica, but poaching is still common in many towns. It is frowned on at Playa Junquillal, where the five baula boys, with their piercings and baseball caps, patrol for poachers and are idolized by many younger children. Dr. Francia, the biologist, has also invited local families to watch the babies being released. “There were a lot of people who had eaten eggs but never seen a turtle,” he said.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
PROJECT ORION IS ON WOSM!
Scouts of the World Award Voluntary Service in Singapore
On the framework of the Scouts of the World Award (SW Award), the Singapore Scout Association has developed the second SW Award Voluntary Service: the Project Orion. Project Orion is a two-week Youth Expedition Project supported by the National Youth Council, Singapore. Organized by eight Rover Scouts from The Singapore Scout Association and one Rover Scout from The Scout Association of Malaysia (Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia) in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, the project aims to promote turtle conservation in Setiu, Terengganu, and the development of the nearby village, Kampung Mangkok.
The Setiu Wetlands is the largest nesting ground for painted terrapin (Callagur borneoensis) and is amongst the few remaining mainland nesting sites for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), both of which are endangered species. The wetland is also a major aquaculture area and plays an important role for the local villagers’ livelihood.
The project gave the team a chance to be an important part of the community and ecosystem. They were involved in assisting rangers in night patrolling for turtle nestings, hatchery work, and hatchling release amongst others. The team also planted a total of 1000 mangroves saplings along Setiu River as part of the UN’s Billion Tree Campaign. The team also raised funds for a portable stainless steel hatchery to replace the current wooden structure.
Despite the project being environmental in nature, the human aspect of the community was definitely not overlooked. The team engaged in English and awareness education with the villagers, interaction with Scouts from the local primary school. They also carried out minor repairs/refurbish of the WWF info centre, and even introduced a method to recycle used cooking oil into hand soap, which could be a source of income generation for the locals. The team also assisted two identified households with dire needs - a divorcee living in a dilapidated house with her young son and the other, a man with kidney failure who didn’t even have enough money to build a proper toilet and shower for his family.
The two- week project was a humbling experience for the team as they gained valuable exposure to the raw elements of nature and the humanity of mankind - probably a once-in-a-life time experience. As the team struggled to hold back tears when they bid farewell to a closed-knitted community which welcomed them with open arms and warm hospitality, some of them promised that they would be back. To uphold a Scout’s honour, Project Orion is set to return back to the golden sandy shores of Setiu again in 2010 and hopefully many years to come.
“No man can be called educated who has not a willingness and desire, as well as a trained ability, to do his part in the world’s work.” - Lord Baden Powell. This Scouts of the World Voluntary Service indeed gave the team members a chance to be called ‘educated’.
The Scouts of the World Award (SW Award) was launched in order to encourage a stronger involvement of young adults in the development of society by making them more aware of the present world issues and to help National Scout Organizations revitalise the programme of Rover Scout section. It is open to everyone between the ages of 15 and 26 years, regardless of ability, race, faith or location. It prepares young people for global citizenship focusing on three core-themes: Peace, Environment, and Development. It helps young people gain understanding, skills and knowledge, for life on a small planet.
It attracts, empowers and engages youth in actions of world importance. This action is based upon universal values - freedom, tolerance, equality, respect for nature and shared responsibility - respected in any culture and enshrined in the UN’s Millennium Declaration. Scouting has promoted these same values for over 100 years.
For more information on how to obtain the Scouts of the World Award visit: www.scoutsoftheworld.net.
Share your Scouts of the World activities with the World Scout Bureau by emailing Andres Morales, Unit Manager Adolescents & Young Adults.
For more pictures, please visit the Scouts of the World Award Picture Gallery.
To keep in contact with hundreds of people that are working on their Scouts of the World projects, please join the Official SW Award FaceBook group.
PROJECT ORION IS ON WOSM!
Scouts of the World Award Voluntary Service in Singapore
On the framework of the Scouts of the World Award (SW Award), the Singapore Scout Association has developed the second SW Award Voluntary Service: the Project Orion. Project Orion is a two-week Youth Expedition Project supported by the National Youth Council, Singapore. Organized by eight Rover Scouts from The Singapore Scout Association and one Rover Scout from The Scout Association of Malaysia (Persekutuan Pengakap Malaysia) in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, the project aims to promote turtle conservation in Setiu, Terengganu, and the development of the nearby village, Kampung Mangkok.
The Setiu Wetlands is the largest nesting ground for painted terrapin (Callagur borneoensis) and is amongst the few remaining mainland nesting sites for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), both of which are endangered species. The wetland is also a major aquaculture area and plays an important role for the local villagers’ livelihood.
The project gave the team a chance to be an important part of the community and ecosystem. They were involved in assisting rangers in night patrolling for turtle nestings, hatchery work, and hatchling release amongst others. The team also planted a total of 1000 mangroves saplings along Setiu River as part of the UN’s Billion Tree Campaign. The team also raised funds for a portable stainless steel hatchery to replace the current wooden structure.
Despite the project being environmental in nature, the human aspect of the community was definitely not overlooked. The team engaged in English and awareness education with the villagers, interaction with Scouts from the local primary school. They also carried out minor repairs/refurbish of the WWF info centre, and even introduced a method to recycle used cooking oil into hand soap, which could be a source of income generation for the locals. The team also assisted two identified households with dire needs - a divorcee living in a dilapidated house with her young son and the other, a man with kidney failure who didn’t even have enough money to build a proper toilet and shower for his family.
The two- week project was a humbling experience for the team as they gained valuable exposure to the raw elements of nature and the humanity of mankind - probably a once-in-a-life time experience. As the team struggled to hold back tears when they bid farewell to a closed-knitted community which welcomed them with open arms and warm hospitality, some of them promised that they would be back. To uphold a Scout’s honour, Project Orion is set to return back to the golden sandy shores of Setiu again in 2010 and hopefully many years to come.
“No man can be called educated who has not a willingness and desire, as well as a trained ability, to do his part in the world’s work.” - Lord Baden Powell. This Scouts of the World Voluntary Service indeed gave the team members a chance to be called ‘educated’.
The Scouts of the World Award (SW Award) was launched in order to encourage a stronger involvement of young adults in the development of society by making them more aware of the present world issues and to help National Scout Organizations revitalise the programme of Rover Scout section. It is open to everyone between the ages of 15 and 26 years, regardless of ability, race, faith or location. It prepares young people for global citizenship focusing on three core-themes: Peace, Environment, and Development. It helps young people gain understanding, skills and knowledge, for life on a small planet.
It attracts, empowers and engages youth in actions of world importance. This action is based upon universal values - freedom, tolerance, equality, respect for nature and shared responsibility - respected in any culture and enshrined in the UN’s Millennium Declaration. Scouting has promoted these same values for over 100 years.
For more information on how to obtain the Scouts of the World Award visit: www.scoutsoftheworld.net.
Share your Scouts of the World activities with the World Scout Bureau by emailing Andres Morales, Unit Manager Adolescents & Young Adults.
For more pictures, please visit the Scouts of the World Award Picture Gallery.
To keep in contact with hundreds of people that are working on their Scouts of the World projects, please join the Official SW Award FaceBook group.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Reef balls to help reduce turtle deaths in Sarawak
KUCHING: Reef balls are synonymous with marine conservation and artificial fish habitat but Sarawak has found a new use for them -- in turtle protection and conservation.
In studies made in the years since 2,590 reef balls were sunk in the seabed in 1998 to create fish habitats near the Talang-Satang National Park, Santubong, Buntal, Tatau and Awat-Awat in Lawas, conservationists at the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) found a marked reduction in the number of dead turtles in areas where these totally protected marine wildlife are normally found.
"Around 20 dead turtles were found compared with 70 to 100 before 1998," said Wilfred Landong, SFC chief wildlife warden.
He also said the number of turtles that had returned to nest on the turtle islands rose from 737 in 2004 to 1,104 last year.
The number of turtles tagged also rose from 639 in 2004 to 1,028 last year.
Buoyed by these findings, SFC plans to lay 100,000 reef balls using technology patented from the US at the turtle migration route off its coast (which conservationists had called "the turtle highway"), their feeding grounds and sanctuaries in the next five years to realise its marine environment conservation programme.
The five-year plan was estimated to cost RM12.5 million.
The turtle migration route runs from the beaches of western Kalimantan to southern Philippines. Off Sarawak, the route follows the sea grass bed, which the turtles feed on their migration, from Santubong all the way to Sabah.
"The use of reef balls in the protection and conservation of turtles is totally new," said Datuk Len Talif Salleh, the state Controller of Wildlife, at a ceremony to lay 150 reef balls in the seabed around the so-called "turtles islands" of Talang Talang and Satang recently.
He said Malaysia could probably be the only country in the world to use reef balls in turtle conservation.
SFC found the reef balls capable of ripping trawler nets, one of the greatest threats to turtles.
The thought of destruction to their nets would help keep trawlers away from these turtle-frequented areas.
Talif said SFC was only given RM910,000 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for the conservation programme and it had been used to seed reef balls in the northern sea off the turtle islands -- Pulau Talang Talang Besar, Pulau Talang Talang Kecil and Pulau Satang.
The waters off these islands are favourite spots for illegal trawlers.
But with plans to sink some 1,000 reef balls near Similajau national park in Bintulu and another 1,000 in Kuala Lawas to ensure feeding grounds of the dugongs and sea turtles are protected, more money was needed.
This year, the state Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment had allocated RM275,000 to SFC for the programme.
The reef balls, designed to last 150 years, cost RM1,000 each and another RM300 to RM500 to transport and deploy.
Talif said Malaysia would again seek the cooperation of Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines in the conservation of turtles.
He said the move would be made through such forums as the Sosek-Malindo and BIMP-EAGA.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Long entry because there are 3 turtle updates!
Chen Pelf Yeen, The Star 9 Oct 09;
ALOR GAJAH: A study to track hawksbill turtles in waters off the west coast of the peninsula has revealed that the critically-endangered species is returning to Malacca to nest.
The findings emerged from an ongoing research involving eight turtles that were tagged with transmitters and released after nesting in Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting.
The research was initiated by WWF Malaysia and the State Fisheries Department three years ago.
WWF’s Conservation of Hawksbill Turtles officer Lau Min Min said the turtles were tracked as far as the Riau Archipelago in Indonesia and Singapore.
The turtles would swim to the Riau islands and Singapore to feed but they would return to Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting to nest between April and September, she said in an interview.
Lau said the research was also to determine the feeding habits of the turtles along the Malacca coastline and their migration patterns in the Straits of Malacca.
“The study will also enable scientists and planners to better understand the habitat use in the coastal waters off Malacca which is crucial due to future mega coastal development,” she said.
Lau said the wildlife authorities together with the Malacca state government should take steps to preserve and protect the nesting sites on Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting.
On Aug 29, 2006, a hawksbill nesting on Pulau Upeh and named Puteri Pulau Upeh, became the first such turtle in the Straits of Malacca to be fitted with the satellite transmitter.
Seven more turtles were subsequently tagged over the last three years.
Six of the turtles were tracked to the Riau Archipelago while two others were last located in waters south of Singapore.
Last year, 189 hawksbill nesting sites with a total of 23,619 eggs were recorded on Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting, representing almost 40% of the estimated 450 turtles nesting sites found in Peninsular Malaysia.
In July this year, the Malacca state government deferred plans to allow a private developer to revive an abandoned resort on Pulau Upeh pending the outcome of environmental and fisheries impact assessment reports.
Tracking Hawksbills in Melaka 2009
WWF 9 Oct 09;
Padang Kemunting, Melaka - WWF-Malaysia, in partnership with the Department of Fisheries Melaka, has successfully deployed a satellite transmitter on a female hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the wee hours of 5th September 2009 after she successfully nested. She was released at approximately 0600 hrs.
This is the second and final deployment of satellite transmitters in the State of Melaka for this year by WWF-Malaysia; the other had been deployed on a hawksbill nesting at Pulau Upeh on 25th August 2009.
WWF-Malaysia Conservation of Hawksbill Turtles & Painted Terrapins of Melaka, Team Leader, Lau Min Min said "This research, now in its fourth year, is being conducted to determine the feeding habitats of the hawksbills nesting along the Melaka coastline and their migration patterns in the Strait of Malacca. This study will also enable scientists and planners to better understand their habitat use in the coastal waters of Melaka which is crucial in a state with mega coastal development plans. These hawksbills undertake their long journey every few years to Melaka beaches solely to complete their reproductive cycle".
Until 2008, eight hawksbills have been tracked by WWF-Malaysia in co-operation with the State Department of Fisheries using this satellite telemetry technology. Six of the turtles were tracked to the waters of Riau Archipelago in Indonesia whereas two others were last located in southern Singaporean waters. The hawksbills’ journey was mapped in www.wwf.org.my
Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting were specially chosen as deployment sites this year, since these nesting grounds support two of the largest nesting populations of hawksbills in Melaka. The state is home to the largest nesting population in Malaysia, second only to Sabah’s Turtle Islands. Each year approximately 300-400 nestings are recorded by the State Department of Fisheries. The statistics of the two hawksbills tagged this year are as below.
Notes to the Editor:
WWF-Malaysia and the Department of Fisheries Melaka are tracking hawksbills to:
- establish the migration routes and feeding grounds of the hawksbills to facilitate the protection of their marine habitat
- communicate migration routes and distant foraging grounds of hawksbills to relevant regional Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Agreements to enhance regional marine turtle conservation strategies and partnerships (e.g. Indian Ocean-Southeast Asia Marine Turtle MoU and MoU on ASEAN Sea Turtle Conservation and Protection)
Satellite telemetry allows researchers to track turtles in the open ocean by attaching a Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT) onto the shell of a turtle. The PTT transmits signals to orbiting satellites each time the turtle surfaces for air. The satellites then send the data to receiving stations on earth that researchers can access on their computers.
Sign up at wwf.org.my and help save turtles: [You can click the EGG=LIFE logo at the righthand side column for easy access!]
WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” campaign, launched on Earth Day 22nd April 2009 and to run until 30th September 2009, targets to gain pledges from 40,000 members of the public. People who sign up in support of the campaign either at ground events or at wwf.org.my will pledge to:
- support laws that will ban the sale and consumption of all turtle eggs throughout Malaysia
- support the call for comprehensive and holistic Federal legislation to conserve marine turtles
- never consume turtle eggs, or trade in turtles or their parts
Each signature in support of WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” campaign will lend weight to efforts aimed at improving turtle protection legislation in Malaysia. We need to take action to save our endangered turtles today because turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy; the same ecosystems which sustain our fisheries and tourism industries that provide food and livelihoods for millions of people.
Students Help Save Turtles With Signatures
WWF 9 Oct 09;
Petaling Jaya – Environmental awareness seems to be growing among Malaysian youths, if the enthusiastic support shown by students for WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” turtle conservation campaign is an indicator. By mid-September, students had helped to collect more than 15,000 signatures in support of the campaign, towards the target of 40,000 by 30th September 2009.
The following institutions collected more than 1,000 signatures each:
• City Harvest Church
• Fairview International School
• SMK Majakir Papar in Sabah
• Multimedia University (Melaka campus)
• Olympia College Kuantan
• Sunway University College
• Taylor’s College (Sri Hartamas campus)
• Taylor’s University College Environmental Club (Subang Jaya campus)
• Tunku Abdul Rahman College, Kuala Lumpur
In addition to helping collect signatures in support of turtle conservation, Olympia College Kuantan also hosted the “Telur Rangers”, three young ladies who collected signatures in support of the “Egg=Life” campaign during a Peninsular Malaysia-wide road trip from 26th July to 8th August 2009.
With such strong support for environmental causes from today’s Malaysian youth, there is hope for a bright future for our living planet. To find out more about the “Egg=Life” campaign supporters and the Telur Rangers, log on to www.wwf.org.my and click on the “Egg=Life” banner.
WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” campaign, launched on Earth Day 22nd April 2009 and to run until 30th September 2009, targets to gain pledges from 40,000 members of the public. People who sign up in support of the campaign either at ground events or at www.wwf.org.my will pledge to:
- support laws that will ban the sale and consumption of all turtle eggs throughout Malaysia
- support the call for comprehensive and holistic Federal legislation to conserve marine turtles
- never consume turtle eggs, or trade in turtles or their parts
Each signature in support of WWF-Malaysia’s “Egg=Life” campaign will lend weight to efforts aimed at improving turtle protection legislation in Malaysia. We need to take action to save our endangered turtles today because turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy; the same ecosystems which sustain our fisheries and tourism industries that provide food and livelihoods for millions of people.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
For sea turtles: Going the egg-stra mile to get the word out
Almost two months ago, three women set out to stop the sale and consumption of turtle eggs. They vowed to collect 100,000 signatures to support the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia Egg - Life Campaign, aimed at protecting and conserving marine turtles.
Now, with less than 10 days before the campaign ends, the "Telur Rangers" have collected fewer than 5,000 signatures and 15,000 online pledges. But they have left behind a trail of awareness.
Clad in turtle T-shirts, Chong Huey Meim, Grace Duraisingham and Nelleisa Omar have visited almost all the states in the peninsula in a classic Volkswagen Beetle to collect signatures and spread the word about turtle conservation.
"We may not have collected 100,000 signatures but we have enlisted apprentice Telur Ranger agents. I believe that in some small way, we have made a difference," said Duraisingham, a biologist.
They persuaded organisations, schools, universities and colleges to collect signatures at their own pace. And aside from setting up their own blog, the Telur Rangers have gathered more than 1,000 fans on the social networking site Facebook, where they have posted, notes, videos and pictures of their journey.
"Some of the things we encountered left us speechless. I was explaining to one man that he should stop eating turtle eggs because the creatures are going extinct. He was shocked but went on to say he needed to buy more before they became more difficult to find," she said, adding that turtle eggs were being sold openly at wet markets at RM10 for three.
Turtles lay more than 100 eggs in a single nesting but only one in 1,000 baby turtles survives into adulthood. It takes 30 years on average for a turtle to mature.
Asked why people favour turtle eggs, Duraisingham said: "People believe they have some aphrodisiac value. There are myths that if a pregnant woman eats them, the baby's skin will be as smooth as an egg.
"But there is no scientific proof they have medicinal value and turtle eggs are not more nutritious than chicken eggs."
On one of her blog entries, Melleisa said the trade in turtle eggs was illegal but the rangers did not see any enforcement.
"One seller told me her stock comes from Sabah by air or sea," said the advertising agency executive.
Public relations executive Chong said turtles faced many challenges, including poaching, coastal development, trapping and getting caught in fishing nets.
"Turtles play an essential role in maintaining the balance of the ocean ecosystem. They feed on jellyfish, preventing overpopulation. Their dwindling numbers mean an increase in jellyfish that in turn affects our fisheries."
By signing up, one pledges to support laws banning the sale and consumption of turtle egg and support the call for comprehensive laws to conserve marine turtles.
VISIT THE TELUR RANGERS' BLOG!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Orissa oil spill threatens rare turtles
An oil spillage from a ship which has sunk off the coast of the Indian state of Orissa could harm rare Olive Ridley sea turtles, environmentalists warn.
They say that parts of the beach have turned black as oil carried by waves continues to come ashore.
They also say that dead fish have been found on the coast near Paradip port.
But port authorities insist that there will not be a major spill because most of the oil is "semi-solid" and remains inside three sealed containers.
The Mongolian ship experienced difficulties on 9 September and then sank off the coast in the Bay of Bengal.
At the time of the accident, the ship was sailing out of the harbour with about 24,000 tonnes of iron ore on board.
Of the 27 crew members, 26 were rescued by port employees and the Coast Guard.
'High mortality'
"If urgent steps are not taken by concerned agencies to empty the fuel tank of the capsized vessel, the oil spill may spread onto Gahirmatha beach, posing a serious threat to the mass nesting grounds of Olive Ridley sea turtles," environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty said.
"The turtles are likely to begin their mass nesting in the area by the end of this month.
"The sea waves in the region break from south to north, which will push the oil spill towards Gahirmatha beach. This may also cause high mortality among marine species including jelly fish and crabs. That in turn will lead to starvation among Olive Ridleys, who feed on them," Mr Mohanty said.
Gahirmatha sea beach is five nautical miles away from the spot where the ship ran into difficulties.
Orissa's state government has asked for help from central government, saying it is worried about the delay in salvaging the ship and the possibility of a serious oil spill.
Small spillages
However, port authorities in the state say that the leakage will not cause much damage to the local eco-system.
"The furnace oil stored in the chambers [of the ship] was in semi-solid condition and becomes liquid only after heating. Therefore the oozing of semi-solid oil... from the vessel is remote," Paradip Port Trust chairman K Raghuramaiah said.
The port chairman insisted that a large scale spillage was also not possible because the bulk of the oil was in three sealed chambers which remained intact.
However port officials have not ruled out the possibility of some small spillages of "furnace and lube oil" from the ship's engine room.
The beaches of Orissa are one of the world's last nesting grounds for Olive Ridleys, which have been listed under the US Endangered Species Act.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Local News! Hawksbill hatchlings found at Kusu Island
There is a legend behind this island. A giant sea turtle saves two shipwrecked sailors – a Malay and a Chinese. As an act of thanks, the two men build a Chinese temple, a Malay shrine and a huge turtle sculpture.
Observers found the hawksbill hatchlings in the pool in front of the chinese temple. Supposedly the hatchlings should be put in the wild for their freedom and survival but they were in an enclosed area. This could limit their sources for food and matings for reproduction. The observers described the scene as heartbreaking as the newborn hatchlings were seen biting off ropes, dead leaves, twigs and even plastics for food! Some observers also spotted the hatchlings biting off each other! Clamster was right, they deserve a better home!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
LOCAL NEWS! Right way to save turtles? Call the cops!
DJ Rod Monteiro finds hatchlings at East Coast Park. He is unable to get help from some animal groups. 21 out of 26 hatchlings later saved by animal activists, passers-byTeh Jen Lee, The New Paper 17 Sep 09;
THEY are an endangered species, but the happy event of their hatching at East Coast Park almost ended in complete tragedy. At least five hawksbill turtles died on our shores yesterday morning.
Another 21 could have suffered the same fate if not for Radio 91.3FM deejay Rod Monteiro, 42, and a group of animal lovers. But what irked Mr Monteiro in his attempt to save the hatchlings is the runaround he was given when he tried calling for help.He was jogging at East Coast Park near the National Service Resort and Country Club at 7am when he spotted a turtle hatchling on the jogging track.
Unusually, it was heading inland, and was more than 100m away from the shore. When Mr Monteiro looked around, he saw two others that had been run over on the cycling track and killed.
'I was sad,' said Mr Monteiro, who co-hosts The Married Men show. 'I (thought) that turtles are endangered.'
He eventually found 12 hatchlings and released 11 of them into the sea. He kept one in case Underwater World Singapore (UWS) or some scientific institution wanted them for research.
But when he called UWS, he was surprised that the assistant curator did not seem to share his excitement about the turtles.
He said: 'I was just told to release the ones I had found and that they were probably hawksbill turtles. From the way he spoke, it was as if the species was not endangered. When I checked online later, I confirmed that it was. Everywhere in the world, people are trying to save these turtles. Why are they taking it so lightly?'
All seven species of marine turtles are endangered.
Mr Monteiro next called the Nature Society Singapore (NSS) office. He was told to call the National University of Singapore's Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) - and was in turn told that RMBR couldn't help. The reason: They can't keep live specimens.
No one told Mr Monteiro that he should have called the police (999) in the first place.
That is the little-known standard operating procedure (SOP) jointly developed with the National Parks Board (NParks) by the Year of the Turtle 2006 Singapore committee.
This SOP states that the public should call the police whenever they see a marine turtle.
The police would immediately alert NParks, said committee chairman, Associate Professor C H Diong, of the Natural Sciences and Science Education department in the National Institute of Education.
The NParks officer-in-charge would go to the site - day or night - with a turtle rescue kit, which includes cordon tape and a pail.
Prof Diong said: 'If there are eggs found, the police will stand guard to prevent theft.
'NParks will contact me or another point person in NUS to assess if the eggs need to be relocated, which would be the case if they can be easily trampled...
'If, during the night, hatchlings are attracted to light sources and they are found heading landward instead of seaward, they may fall into drains or go into people's houses.
'In that case, NParks will collect them, count them and release them.'
Urgency
Eventually, Mrs Teresa Teo Guttensohn, the co-founder of Cicada Tree Eco-place, an environmental education group, was informed by NSS about the turtles.
She called Mr Monteiro at 10am.
He said: 'She was going to rush down and look for more hatchlings.
'There was an urgency in her voice. That was what I was looking for.'
About 15 people, including cyclists, passers-by and representatives from the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) helped Mrs Guttensohn look for hatchlings.
Mrs Guttensohn, 46, who drove to the site from her home in Bukit Panjang, said: 'When I got the call about the turtles, I was actually going to the doctor because I have a sports injury.'
Measuring only about 5cm across, the hatchlings were hard to spot as they looked like dried leaves. But after about four hours, the group managed to find 26 hatchlings.
Five died from the heat or from being run over. The rest of the turtles were released at 12.30pm in the presence of NParks staff.
Mr Monteiro was heartened by their efforts. He said: 'I'm going to talk about this incident on air. The people I called should have known where to direct me. It's their job to know about wildlife in Singapore. If someone else found the turtles and let the matter go after the first call, all those turtles found by the rescuers would have died.'
A spokesman for UWS said they are aware of the arrangement to call the police. She said: 'Since the turtles were found near the sea, releasing them immediately may be a more expedient solution than waiting for the appropriate personnel to travel to the site.'
Prof Diong, who has been doing turtle research since the 1990s, said he will look into how the key partners of the Year of the Turtle committee, which includes UWS, RMBR and NSS, can be reminded of the SOP.
First sighting in 3 years
Hawksbill turtles are the only species of marine turtles that have been sighted in Singapore. Mr Monteiro's find is the first reported sighting in three years. There were no sightings in the whole of 2007 and 2008.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Vietnam police say 849 endangered turtles rescued
Officers discovered the turtles last Wednesday and set them free at the Nha Trang Sea Reserve, said a member of the environmental police in south-central Khanh Hoa province.
Investigations were continuing and nobody was arrested, said the officer who refused to be named and gave no further details.
The VietnamNet online news service said the turtles weighed between seven and eight kilograms (15 and 18 pounds) and had been bought by a local resident from fishermen.
It said the sea reserve was established in 2001 and turtles were now breeding there. The report did not say if the turtles were destined for the pot or export.
Hawksbills are listed as critically endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Endangered sea turtles rescued in central Vietnam
thanhniennews.com 11 Sep 09;
Police in the central province of Khanh Hoa have released 849 endangered sea turtles into the wild after confiscating them from a local man now under investigation.
The hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), most of whom weighed between seven and eight kilometers each, had been bought since last October, Mac Tien Nang told the police.
Nang said he had never sold turtles.
Hawksbills are not allowed to be used for commercial purposes under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, to which Vietnam became a signatory in 1994.
Despite being categorized as “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, hawksbills did not receive proper protection in Khanh Hoa Province until local authorities cooperated wit some international organizations to found a marine reserve and applying conservation measures in 2001.
After almost 20 years of absence from Nha Trang Bay, the turtles have recently been seen laying eggs on the bay’s Hon Tre Island.
Source: Tuoi Tre
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Mangroving Replanting
We headed down to Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve on Saturday morning, 12 September for our mangrove replanting activity. This activity follows up on the mangrove salvaging activity that we have done earlier in august. However, this time round, we were replanting these mangrove saplings that we had salvaged from earlier sessions.
Once again, joining us for the replanting were Scouts from Beatty's Beavers, SJI's Pelandok and Bishan Park's Lightning.
The task for this activity was pretty simple, firstly we dig a hole that is enough to cover the roots system of the plant. Secondly we plant the sapling into the ground and cover the soil. Next, we place a bamboo stick into the ground beside the sapling. And finally, we tie the sapling to the stick, to prevent the tides from washing away our newly-planted saplings.
The replanting also concludes the Mangrove Reforestation Programme, and we hope the participants had as much fun as we did. We would definitely like to thank NParks and Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve for making this happen!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Bahamas set to ban catch and sale of sea turtles
Despite opposition from many fishermen, the Bahamas has amended fisheries laws to give full protection to all sea turtles found in the Atlantic archipelago's waters by banning the harvest, possession, purchase and sale of the endangered reptiles, including their eggs. The new rules take effect Tuesday.
"Young people here have never tasted turtle, but it had continued to be eaten by the older population in some of the outer islands," said Kim Aranha, a member of a Bahamian conservation group that led the campaign to protect sea turtles. "So we're really happy our work has paid off with this ban; the turtles couldn't do it themselves."
Previously, the Bahamian government permitted harvesting of all species of sea turtles except the hawksbill. Flesh had been used by restaurants and shells for tourist keepsakes despite turtles' status as endangered species.
It's impossible to gauge how many green turtles, loggerheads and other types were slaughtered each year in the Bahamas, but activists say counts of shells found in marina markets and information from fishermen indicate the haul was hefty.
"It has been an unrelenting catch," Karen Bjorndal, who has long studied marine turtle populations at the University of Florida's Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, said in a phone interview.
Bjorndal said the Bahamas' shallow seagrass beds and reefs are prime foraging grounds for the big, slow turtles, so the fishing ban will help spur the regional recovery of the creatures, which are also threatened by pollution and development on beaches where they lay eggs.
The Bahamas Sea Turtle Conservation Group has been pressuring the government for about two years to protect all sea turtle species, including distributing bumper stickers reading "Stop the Killing."
Not everybody is happy with the new rules. Opponents say eating turtle meat is a local tradition. Some local fishermen — a handful of whom would regularly demand money from conservationists to free captured turtles on display at marinas — argue they should be able to catch the migrating animals without any penalty.
Jane Mather, co-chairwoman of the conservation group who has received anonymous threats in recent weeks over the ban, said penalties are still being negotiated with the government but she hopes they will be "quite serious."
"Ninety percent of the Bahamian public don't want turtles killed," Mather said from the capital, Nassau.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sea Turtle Eggs Seized, Four Nabbed in Sabah
Its commanding officer, ASP Muhammad Sallam Spawi said the eggs were believed to be taken from islands off Sabah near the Philippine border.
Those arrested aged between 12 and 61 were arrested under the Immigration Act 1959/1963 and the Wildlife Conservation Act 1997, he said in a statement today.
Muhammad Sallam said turtle eggs were sold illegally here between RM1.20 and RM2 each.
-- BERNAMA
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Mangrove Salvaging
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Cornelia Dean, The New York Times 19 Aug 09;
When a federal panel that regulates fishing in the Gulf of Mexico voted last week to limit the use of longlines to catch grouper because the lines can snag and drown threatened loggerhead sea turtles, no one was completely satisfied with the decision.
But some people close to the issue say the dissatisfaction is a positive sign, an indicator of the growing efforts among fishermen, conservationists and regulators to seek consensus and abandon the rancor that for decades has marked their interactions.
“Nobody got exactly what they wanted,” said Roy Crabtree, Southeast regional administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the panel, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. “But everyone felt we had come up with a reasonable compromise.”
Longlines are miles of metal cable strung with thousands of baited hooks, which fishermen deploy along the ocean bottom, including on coral reefs and rocky “hardbottoms” where red and black grouper forage. Loggerhead sea turtles forage there, too, and if they are snagged on the hooks, they may drown before the lines are hauled back to the surface.
The council, which regulates fishing in federal waters from Texas to the west coast of Florida, voted to close some areas to longlining, and only about half of the approximately 125 boats now using the gear will be allowed to continue. Fishermen will be allowed to catch grouper using vertical lines, which are dropped overboard.
In general, experts say, fishermen bring in bigger catches using longline gear, and some add that it is somewhat easier to use at sea.
Glen Brooks, president of the Gulf Fishermen’s Association and a participant in the rule making, said the process was “stressful.” But, Mr. Brooks said, “years ago the commercial fishermen did not talk to the environmentalists, we did not talk to the recreational fishermen and the council members kind of looked down on us. Now we have a pretty good relationship with the environmental groups, the recreational sectors, and we have a pretty good rapport with the council members.”
Dave Allison, who manages turtle conservation efforts for Oceana, an environmental group that also participated in the rule making, called the new ruling “probably the best that the sea turtles could have hoped for from an organization called the fishery management council.” But “it’s a good start,” Mr. Allison said. According to Dr. Crabtree, recent research suggests that the lines snag far more loggerhead sea turtles than had been thought, perhaps 600 a year, and that most of them die. Conservationists say longline gear also damages corals and other important habitat on the sea bottom, threatening both the turtles and the fish.
Dr. Crabtree said that turtles sometimes snagged on vertical line hooks, too, but that because those lines were usually hauled up relatively quickly few of them died as a result. Loggerhead turtles can stay underwater for up to an hour.
The Gulf of Mexico supplies much of the grouper served on American tables. Dr. Crabtree said it was too soon to know if the rule change would significantly affect prices for the fish.
Adult loggerheads typically have shells about three feet long — “bigger than a wheelbarrow but smaller than a Volkswagen,” as Mr. Allison put it. Though females may lay 100 eggs or more on the region’s sandy beaches, scientists estimate that fewer than one in 1,000 of the tiny turtles who hatch and crawl into the waves live to age 30 or 35, when they are ready to reproduce. NOAA scientists are studying whether still more restrictions may be needed to protect loggerhead sea turtles, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Though he is among those who think more must be done to safeguard the turtles, Mr. Allison praised council members, who, he said, “showed a great deal of courage” in pushing for fishing restrictions sure to be unpopular in some quarters.
In a way, Mr. Brooks said the same thing.
The ruling “has its pros and it’s got its cons,” he said. “We did not get everything we wanted; the environmental groups, the agency, they did not get everything they wanted. But we all walked away with something.”
Friday, August 7, 2009
Who would be a turtle who could help it?
A barely mobile hard roll, a four-oared helmet,
she can ill afford the chances she must take
in rowing toward the grasses that she eats.
Her track is graceless, like dragging
a packing-case places, and almost any slope
defeats her modest hopes. Even bring practical,
she is often stuck up to the axle on the way
to something edible. With everything optimal,
she skirts the ditch which would convert
her shell into a serving dish. She lives
below luck-level, never imagining to some lottery
will change her load of pottery to wings.
Her only levity is patience,
the sport of truly chastened things.
(extracted from Reader's Digest; August Issue)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Project Orion on Strait Times Papers!!- Home page section
Victoria Vaughan, Straits Times 1 Aug 09;
REPAIRING houses, planting trees and conserving turtle eggs were just a few of the accomplishments of a group of Singapore scouts in Setiu, Terengganu - and they have now set the standard for future projects there.
Eight rover scouts - that is, the senior section for those aged 17 to 26 - assisted WWF conservationists in their turtle and community projects in the Malaysian east coast state and impressed them with their pro-active approach.
Team adviser Tan Sijie, 26, led the group to Setiu, one of Terengganu state's poorest districts in terms of revenue generation, for their first Orion Turtle Project that they hope to turn into an annual event.
Mr Tan came to know about the project after a friend volunteered to join it three years ago. But it took many e-mail exchanges and two visits for him to convince the WWF in Setiu to give the green light for the trip as the organisation was not equipped to take on such a large group.
'As scouts, we leave the place a little better than when we first found it, and that's what we aimed to do in Setiu,' said Mr Tan, who has been a scout for 15 years.
WWF's Mr River Foo, the Setiu community project liaison officer, said: 'The amount this group did was immense. The standard of these kids is a benchmark for other volunteers that come out.
'We do not really take on volunteer groups as we are too busy with our day-to-day jobs, but we did not have to babysit them. They were so independent and got around on their bikes cycling to areas up to 8km away. They were really passionate about everything they did.'
The group, consisting mostly of students, organised its activities, including patrolling the beaches at night to spot turtles laying eggs. The eggs were then dug up and reburied in the WWF hatchery to protect them from predators and people who believe the leathery-shell eggs are aphrodisiacs.
After talking with a women's group in Setiu that the WWF helps to educate, the scouts identified two building projects in the town: constructing a toilet for a man on kidney dialysis and replacing the crumbling wall of a home in the village. The divorcee who lived in the home was so grateful she cried when they left at the end of their two-week trip.
The group also planted 1,000 mangrove trees from the WWF nursery in four areas along the banks of the Setiu River over two days.
All the hard work has earned the group a Scouts of the World Award - a badge currently held by only seven scouts in Singapore. It requires the scouts to go on a community project for 14 days.
There are 20 registered rover crews and about 250 rover scouts in Singapore. Next year will mark 100 years of scout presence in Singapore.
Also featured on:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=56716679962&ref=mf
http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com/2009/08/scouts-pitch-in-to-save-turtles.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/08/sijie-scouts-and-sea-turtles-at-setia.html
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
WWF-Malaysia Shocked Melaka To Develop Pulau Upeh
Its executive director/chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius S. K. Sharma said, what was even more alarming was that the plan surfaced in the wake of WWF-Malaysia's meeting with the chief minister last month, over the importance of Pulau Upeh and other prime nesting beaches for the turtle.
WWF-Malaysia stressed at the meeting that legal protection of all prime nesting beaches, including Pulau Upeh, was needed, he said in a statement Monday.
Further to legal protection, WWF-Malaysia also stressed that only low-impact turtle-based ecotourism was feasible on the island whilst providing the state with valuable tourism income, as well as ensure the survival of the hawksbill.
Dr Dionysius said, proceeding with the development without considering the feasibility and the impact of the impending development on the turtle population, would have a catastrophic effect on the nesting habitat.
He said currently, the nesting beaches in Melaka, including Pulau Upeh, were not legally protected.
The viability of Pulau Upeh for hawksbill conservation is dependent on legal protection of the whole island.
-- BERNAMA
Extracted from: http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com
Monday, July 27, 2009
Orion is on World of Scout Movement Website!
Project Orion plants 1,000 Mangroves in Malaysia
The sun rises above the horizon, casting against the golden sandy shores of Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast, along which the Setiu River runs parallel. This is where the beautiful Setiu Wetlands, part of the Setiu River Basin and the larger Setiu-Chalok-Bari-Merang basin wetland complex lies.
The Setiu Wetlands is the largest nesting ground for painted terrapin (Callagur borneoensis) and are amongst the few remaining mainland nesting sites for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), both of which are endangered species. The wetland is also a major aquaculture area and plays an important role for the local villagers’ livelihood. Project Orion ( www.projectorion.sg) is a 2-weeks Youth Expedition Project under the National Youth Council, Singapore, organizing by the Scouts from Singapore and Malaysia in collaboration with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia, with the aims of promoting turtle conservation and development of the nearby village, Kampung Mangkok.
Setiu Wetlands Project Community Liaison, River Foo said, “It was a fantastic experience for the locals and school children to interact with the team members of Project Orion over the two weeks. Although there had been visitors to the Kampung Mangkok in the past, but none of them actually spent time with the locals like the Scouts did. The commitment showcased by the Scouts in helping the villagers and the environment is truly inspiring. The opportunity for the locals to interact with the foreigners definitely boosted their confidence and thus encourages them to feel proud of themselves and their village. Besides, this is a good example for other future volunteers on how they can conduct activities with WWF and the villagers.”
On the 26th and 27th June, the wetland saw about 60 Scouts from Selokah Kebangsaan Mangkok, Kumpulan Latihan Kelanasiswa Malaysia (KLKM) Rovers and Project Orion coming together for a community mangrove planting session. A total of 1000 Asiatic mangroves (Rhizophora mucronata) and Nipah palm (Nypa fruticans) saplings were planted along the four sections along the Setiu River over the two days.
River Foo also mentioned, “The mangroves planting session with the team members of Project Orion and Scouts from Sekolah Kebangsaan Mangkok and KLKM Rovers was a huge success. Apart from the replanting activity itself, it has also raised awareness on the importance of mangroves ecosystem to the groups involved.”
This was an event that saw both local and foreign communities coming together for a common goal – the preservation of our environment and nature!
http://www.scout.org/en/information_events/news/2009/project_orion
Sunday, July 26, 2009
An 'Unhealthy' Appetite For Turtle Eggs in Brunei
He added that the turtle,eggs or popularly known as `ping-pong ball' among the illicit traders were ordered through advance bookings and came from Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu. In recent months, the enforcement officials caught the smugglers red-handed through land route via Kuala Lurah or through the sea route in the Brunei waters.
Thousands of turtle eggs were saved from the cooking pot when customs officials on Friday night foiled an attempt to smuggle in a total of 4,150 turtle eggs (pic right) here, thanks to a tip off from the 'public. It's the biggest number of turtle eggs seized by local authorities so far this year.
The Bulletin learnt that traders back in the Kota Kinabalu market are selling them in seclusion and only target certain buyers including Bruneians who park their Brunei registered vehicle at the busy market. It is not sold openly where a hand signal, indicating a round shape is used.
Asked on the fate of the confiscated turtle eggs, the customs official said they would either be handed over to the Fisheries Department or destroyed, depending on the order from the court.
The turtle eggs confiscated on Friday were hidden under dried shrimp inside 13 boxes were revealed after a search conducted by officers on a 4x4 vehicle at the Kuala Lurah Control Post. A foreign man aged 46-year-old was detained for further investigation.
Any attempt to smuggle turtle eggs into or out of the country is an offence under the Wild Life Protection Act Chapter 102 Section 8 (1) Museums Act 2006 Chapter 140.
Meanwhile, concerned readers called on the authority to start a marketing campaign to stop eating turtle eggs in an effort to save the turtles from extinction. Gathering Bruneians to take an oath to not buy, sell and consume turtle eggs would be a good step.
A taxi driver and a father of a child from Kota Kinabalu told the Bulletin that he used to drive all the way to Sandakan just to get the turtle eggs while a Bruneian fly to Kota Kinabalu for a day trip just to fulfil the cravings of his pregnant wife.
Turtles play a critical role in keeping the marine ecosystems healthy. Marine turtles are threatened with extinction including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, caught in fishing gears, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of their parts.
The event is supported by Baiduri Bank, Brunei Press Sdn Bhd, Neptune (B) Sdn Bhd, City Neon Brunei, Kristal FM and Simpur. For more information about the event, call 2418888. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin
Extracted from: http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com
Friday, July 24, 2009
Indonesian police seize dozens of smuggled sea
Buleleng police officers have seized 45 green sea turtles being transported in a truck in Buleleng regency.
The endangered animals, along with truck driver Made Winata, are currently being held at the Buleleng Police headquarters.
Seririt Police in Buleleng regency made the seizure at dawn Saturday, recovering the animals, aged around 10 years old, from the truck with registration number DK 9374 AU.
The truck was stopped on the way from Gerokgak, in the western part of Bali, to Busungbiu in the south.
Winata could not show official documents for the turtles, whose shells averaged 45 by 50 centimeters.
"I didn't know these turtles were being smuggled," Winata said.
"I was just told to take them from Rakyat Pegametan Harbor. I don't know whether they had official documents or not.
"All I know is, an army officer owns these animals."
Buleleng Police say they are waiting for an expert from the Buleleng Natural Resources Conservation Office before they continue the investigation.
"We've asked for a turtle expert to come over and help us, but we've had no one come," said an investigator speaking on condition of anonymity.
"We don't know how to handle these endangered creatures, and meanwhile, they're still considered evidence."
According to the The Jakarta Post's observations, most of the turtles had been left strung up.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sea turtle connection: Sentosa and Pulau Upeh
Pulau Upeh, site of the largest nesting congregation in Peninsular Malaysia, is to be developed as a Hawksbill turtle conservation site and potentially the next big tourism attraction in the state of Melaka.
How is this connected to Sentosa?A satellite tracking study of Hawksbill sea turtles that nest on Pulau Upeh found that at least one of them, named Puteri Pulau Upeh (or Princess of Pulau Upeh) had spent most of her time in the waters off Sentosa!
And sea turtles have also been sighted in many locations among our Southern Islands.Pulau Upeh lies just off Melaka.
Every year, between 200 to 300 Hawksbill turtle nests are identified in Pulau Upeh and the nearby beaches. This population is significant as it is the largest nesting congregation in Peninsular Malaysia.Also, there is a 75% average hatch rate of Pulau Upeh turtle eggs handled by WWF-Malaysia; a 70% hatch rate is considered successful. (From Save our Sea Turtles by WWF on WildAsia 16 Feb 08)
The state government would be working with a private investor. Planned development includes upgrading the 120 chalets that had been abandoned for 10 years and construction of new ones. Work on the island will begin next month and is expected to be completed in a year.
Hawksbill turtles that nested on Pulau Upeh may travel 200 to 300 km to forage in the Riau Archipelago in Indonesian seas and the southern Singaporean waters, a satellite tracking study by WWF-Malaysia found. This discovery is a compelling reason to initiate transboundary, multinational efforts to conserve turtles. (From Save our Sea Turtles by WWF on WildAsia 16 Feb 08)
However, Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia chief technical officer for peninsular Malaysia Surin Suksuwan expressed shock when told of the revived resort project. “We are concerned that the project, if carried out indiscriminately, will result in irreversible impact on the turtles nesting and their nesting behaviour,” he said. He said the WWF had briefed state officials three weeks ago on the turtles and proposed a low-impact turtle eco-tourism project.
