TURNING TO A TURTLE HAVEN
Turtles may have lost much of their habitat to development but there are now efforts to give them shelter. S.S. YOGA of the STAR Publications, visits a new turtle sanctuary in Terengganu, Malaysia.

FOR years, turtles of all kinds have sought the coastline of Terengganu to lay their cache of eggs. The beaches seem to stretch forever, and are dark and quiet. The sand, fine and warm.

But not anymore.

Today, the beaches much needed by nesting turtles are retreating before the advancing resorts and industrial plants along the shoreline.

At the famed Rantau Abang beach, present-day landings of leatherback turtles are only a fraction of what they used to be. With their traditional nesting grounds now lost to development, the turtles are now heading elsewhere - south, towards the towns of Paka and Kerteh.

The 10km-long coastline between both towns is now the hotspot for turtle landings in Terengganu (see map). And fortunately, the state government has had the foresight to see the area's importance - it has set aside that stretch of coastline for the Fisheries Department.

While previously egg collection was leased to the public, now only the department can collect them. The eggs are then reburied at hatcheries at Ru Kudung and Ma' Daerah.

The Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary is the newest one in the state - and one of the most important. The most number of Green turtles, 142, landed there last year, together with four Leatherbacks. The endangered marine painted terrapin nest along that shoreline too.

The Ma' Daerah centre also differs from other turtle sanctuaries, being set up with funding from the private sector. BP Petronas Acetyls Sdn Bhd financed the construction of a centre while BP Amoco sponsored the educational and public awareness programmes and set up two solar panels to power the centre.

Meanwhile, turtle experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia drew up the sanctuary management plan and the public education programme.

 

Such a tripartite partnership is how turtle sanctuaries should be set up, says Kevin Hiew, head of the Fisheries Department's marine park unit.

"It is also important to have an open dialogue with all the other parties which have a stake, like the fishermen."

The Ma' Daerah turtle committee which has been formed, has representatives from all the different agencies and the associations representing local fishermen, adds Hiew.

He says it is important to involve villages and fishermen as their livelihood has, to a certain extent, been affected by the sanctuary. To compensate for the loss of revenue from egg-collection and fishing in the area, Hiew says the locals can earn some income from related eco-tourism activities, like acting as guides.

Future security
Despite the interest in Ma' Daerah, the beach is still not entirely secure for nesting turtles. Egg-collection may now be reserved only for the Fisheries but as the beach is not closed to the public, poachers can still get at the eggs which can sell for up to RM5 each.

In Terengganu, only Leatherback turtles are fully protected and thus, their eggs cannot be collected. The Green turtle and another species, the Olive Ridley, are not.

According to Hiew and Dr Dionysius Sharma, who leads the WWF animal species conservation unit, the most important thing is to get Ma' Daerah gazetted as a turtle sanctuary. Discussions with state authorities are ongoing.

Hiew explains that Fisheries can, to a certain extent, control what happens in the sea as the Fisheries Act 1985 allows a maximum buffer zone of 5.55 nautical kilometres. This prohibits all activities, including fishing, in that area. Unfortunately, this does not restrict what happens on land, unless it is a gazetted sanctuary.

In the case of Ma' Daerah, there is hope yet. The beach is a mere 1.7km long, so it can be easily patrolled by staff of five. Access is also difficult, and is possible only by four-wheel drive vehicles. With hatcheries like Rantau Abang, security is a perennial problem as it stretches for 13km and is vulnerable to intrusion from all points.

As another safeguard, Ma' Daerah would need a buffer zone. "This will protect the sanctuary from intrusion and adjacent development," says Dr Sharma.

As it is, resort developers have been eyeing that beach. Hiew says there was an aborted plan for a resort nearby, and he fears similar plans might resurface.

 

There will be studies to determine the width for the buffer but Hiew admits this would only serve as a guideline for State authorities when drawing up local plans.

The guideline will outline permissible activities near the sanctuary and the amount of light permissible in the area. Light can disorientate both the female turtle and the hatchlings. Nesting females avoid brightly lit beaches while hatchlings, attracted to the light, will head towards it instead of the sea.

In fact, the Fisheries Department figure the intense development around Paka is one reason why turtles are increasingly turning up at Ma' Daerah. However, the beach is fortunate, says Dr Sharma. "It is backed by a hill of virgin forest. We are recommending that this forest be preserved as it is a natural barricade against ambient light."

Another threat facing Ma' Daerah is the possibility of vessels berthing off Ma' Daerah. Their presence and lights might attract and disorientate turtle hatchlings, according to Liew Hock Chark, who co-heads the Sea Turtle Research Unit at University Putra Malaysia in Terengganu.

Creating awareness
An important aspect of the Ma' Daerah Sanctuary, is that it includes educational and public awareness activities not just for the general public, but also for fishermen, villagers, students and teachers.

Two awareness camps have been held, the latest one for an enthusiastic bunch of teenagers living in the vicinity. The rationale for this, says Hiew, is that they will share their knowledge with peers and parents.

Hopefully, part of the awareness programme will focus on how tourists should behave when visiting turtle sanctuaries and hatcheries. Very often, they do as they please - hold, touch, sit on, and shine their lights on the turtles.

Such handling can damage the soft shells of hatchlings, and may even interfere with their imprinting, warns Dr Sharma. Drawing on smell, heat and the earth's magnetic fields, the imprinting guides the hatchlings towards the sea when they emerge from their nests, and back to that same beach when they are nesting adults.

Liew also urge for studies on the carrying capacity of sanctuaries to host tourists, for visitor numbers are usually not controlled. There have also been public relation events hosted by multinationals which have facilities on beaches with nesting turtles. During these events, hatchlings are released in broad daylight - a no-no according to turtle experts.

Liew explains that hatchlings can die from dehydration due to the heat. Moreover, hatchlings always emerge under the cover of darkness, so as to avoid predators.

Hiew agrees on this point - which was why for the official opening of the Ma' Daerah Sanctuary, the Menteri Besar only buried the eggs and did not release any hatchlings. Hiew says dignitaries are now persuaded to do something else or to set the hatchlings at dusk. However, the department is helpless in many instances, such as when the event is organised by a private company on its own beach.

Such abuses underscore the importance of in situ incubation, whereby the eggs are allowed to hatch in their original nests. Currently, for the nesting beach between Paka and Kerteh, the eggs are collected and reburied in the hatcheries at Ma' Daerah and Ru Kudung, a method called ex situ hatching.

However, this is not the most ideal method. According to Dr Sharma, a newly-laid egg has a free-forming embryo with an attachment to the shell, a sort of umbilical cord. If the egg is moved and not set down within two hours, the embryo will not reattach itself, and the egg won't hatch. He adds that eggs hatched in situ or in their nests, usually result in healthier hatchlings.

However, nests may be dug up by predators such as monitor lizards, snakes and crabs. Hatcheries, on the other hand, are usually fenced up to deter predators. This explains why the eggs along the Paka-Kerteh beach are now transferred to hatcheries. Moreover, says Hiew, Ma' Daerah is still not a gazetted sanctuary, thus the nests may not be secure. He says eventually, a mix of in situ and ex-situ incubation of eggs would be used.

Future researches will study the effects of disturbance in the surroundings on landing and hatching rates, and how fishing activities and incidental capture may have depleted turtle numbers.

The private sector may have contributed generously but additional funding is still needed to manage the Ma' Daerah sanctuary, which requires an annual budget of RM100,000. In future, additional sources of funding are expected from donations, turtle sponsorship programmes, grants, souvenir sales, and volunteer programmes. - The STAR