By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-03-09 03:42:15 | Updated at 2025-03-09 16:13:16
12 hours ago
PETALING JAYA - There has been a steady increase in the number of green turtles nesting on Malaysian beaches, says the Fisheries Department.
This is a positive result for conservation efforts especially for the green turtle, but other species also require special attention, said the department’s director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain.
The green turtle is the most common sea turtle species to lay their eggs on Malaysian beaches with over 10,000 coming onshore to nest in 2023 alone, he said.
“According to the data, the green turtle showed a significant increase in landings, from 3,878 in 2017 to 10,130 in 2023,” he said.
The green turtle also recorded the highest number of eggs laid, increasing from 330,793 in 2017 to 811,351 in 2023.
Green turtles are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Conservation efforts include the turtle egg incubation programme where eggs are collected from natural nests and incubated in centres to ensure high hatching rates, Mr Adnan said.
“A total of 5.12 million turtle eggs were collected and incubated in conservation centres from 2017 to 2023.
“Of this, 3.62 million hatchlings successfully emerged and were released into the sea,” he said.
He added that the department monitors the nesting sites in collaboration with NGOs and fishermen, and local residents are incentivised to hand over turtle eggs to the conservation centres.
“Turtles nest throughout the year, but the peak season typically occurs between March and October, with June to September being the most active period,” he said.
“Based on data from 2017 to 2023, the four main turtle species that nest in Malaysia are the green turtle, hawksbill turtle, leatherback turtle and olive ridley turtle.
“The number of hawksbill turtles coming onshore to nest is still low although there has been a slight increase.
“For the olive ridley turtle, only three landings were recorded between 2017 and 2024,” he said.
Mr Adnan added that the department is working tirelessly to protect sea turtles and is hoping for the leatherback turtle to return to Malaysian shores.
The largest of the sea turtle species, the leatherback turtle has not nested on Malaysian shores since 2017.
In 2024, there was a reduction in turtles coming onshore to nest, but the data has not been validated yet, Mr Adnan said.
He noted that the number can fluctuate over the years, but the trend is stable.
Sea turtles are protected under the Fisheries Act 1985 and other state laws. Under the Fisheries Act 1985, the collection, possession, and sale of turtle eggs is illegal, said Mr Adnan.
Pulihara (Marine Conservation and Research Organisation Malaysia) chief executive officer Rahayu Zulkifli said the nesting season has just begun in Terengganu.
She said there were two nests recently laid in Pantai Chakar Hutan, Kerteh, and one in Tanjong Jara, Dungun.
Ms Rahayu said a team will patrol the beaches every night to protect the turtles and prevent the eggs from being stolen or disturbed by wild animals like monitor lizards and also humans.
She added that Pulihara looks after three turtle nesting areas and was given a licence by the Fisheries Department to operate.
In 2023, the team observed many new turtle mothers coming onshore to nest, she said.
“This could be the result of conservation from 10 to 20 years ago; the hatchlings had grown up and came back to nest,” she said.
Seatru scientific coordinator Adriana Dania Hemizan said that for the site in Redang Island, the nesting season for green turtles is from April to October with its peak nesting occurring between June and August.
“Hawksbill turtles nest less frequently on Redang. Their nesting season is less defined but generally overlaps with that of green turtles,” she said.
Ms Adriana added that monitoring activities include nightly beach patrols to record nesting events, tagging of nesting females for identification, relocation of nests to hatcheries when necessary to protect them from threats, and collecting data on nesting frequency and success rates.
She said female sea turtles often return to the same beach where they were laid and hatched.
“It is a phenomenon known as natal homing,” she said.
She added that only about one in 1,000 hatchlings survive to adulthood due to predation and other challenges, and sea turtles can live beyond 50 years. THE STAR/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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