Vietnam police say 849 endangered turtles rescued

HANOI — Vietnamese police have rescued 849 critically endangered hawksbill turtles, police and news reports said Saturday.

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