(MY) baby turtles

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Terrible odds against baby turtles -New Straits Times

07 May 2006

By Shahrum Sayuthi

 

 

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KUANTAN: Two out of 1,000. That is the survival rate of baby turtles

released into the sea from Fisheries Department sanctuaries.

 

 

This means that for every 1,000 eggs painstakingly hatched at turtle

sanctuaries, only two baby turtles are expected to survive to their

adult egg-laying age of 20 years.

 

 

" For those who think of eating them, please bear in mind that they are

not chickens or cattle which we can breed in farms, " said Cherating

Turtle Sanctuary and Information Centre manager Zakaria Sulaiman.

 

Zakaria, speaking after a mass clean-up of the sanctuary yesterday,

said the lack of public awareness was the main threat to the turtles.

 

Over 250 people, including students and villagers, took part in the

clean-up which is an annual event organised by BP Chemicals

(Malaysia).

 

Zakaria said they were, for instance, still struggling to educate

fishermen on the importance of not laying their nets too near the

sanctuary's coastline.

 

While the information programme has helped to reduce egg-poaching

among the local people, Zakaria said more had to be done to prevent

the turtles from getting caught in nets.

 

But despite limited enforcement capabilities, Malaysia has the best

record and toughest law governing turtle protection in the region.

 

Last year, 13,590 baby green turtles, locally known as penyu agar,

were hatched and released into the sea at the sanctuary, which covers

a 3.5km stretch of the Cherating beach.

 

Four of the seven turtle species are known to lay eggs on the

country's shoreline, namely the Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green and

Olive Ridley.

 

The others are Olive Ridley Atlantic, which mostly lays eggs in

Canada, Flatback (Australia) and Loggerhead (Indonesia).