(MY) turtle killings

[Guest guest]

Monday March 27, 2006 - The Star

 

MB upset over turtle killings

 

By K. SUTHAKAR

 

KUALA TERENGGANU: It's shocking and the Fisheries Department must

investigate it quickly – that is the order from the state.

 

An upset Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said this when asked to

comment on allegations that fishermen at the Kijal beach in Kemaman

had killed turtles.

 

" This should not happen as the state is serious about conserving the

critically-endangered species, " he said.

 

Idris said he sensed something amiss with the decreasing number of

turtle nestings in the state over the years.

 

" This cannot be due to pollution of sea water or trawler activities alone.

 

" I had a hunch that turtles were getting entangled in the drift nets

laid by fishermen, " he said here yesterday.

 

Idris was commenting on a report in The Star on Friday that 26 species

of turtles had died at the Kijal beach since early this year.

 

The report quoted two egg collectors who alleged that fishermen killed

the turtles that got entangled in the nets.

 

Instead of freeing them, the fishermen took the easy way out by

bludgeoning the turtles on the head and flippers, they alleged.

 

Idris directed the department to confiscate the nets, which had been

banned several years ago.

 

When contacted, egg collectors Mohd Jamali Mohamad, 27, and his friend

Yusof Bakar, 54, who made the allegations, said they were ready to

co-operate with the authorities.

 

" If the department is interested, I can show the burial spot of the

leatherback, which was killed by fishermen on March 17, " said Mohd

Jamali.

 

He alleged that 11 leatherbacks nested at the Pantai Teluk Senajang in

Kijal last year, but fishermen stole the eggs.

 

This, he said, was saddening since the species was on the verge of

extinction in the country.