A policeman holding up one of 71 green turtles rescued in Bali on Wednesday. Despite a ban on the turtle trade, the reptile’s meat remains a delicacy on the island. (JG Photo/JP Christo)
Denpasar. Bali Police announced on Wednesday that they had rescued 71 endangered green turtles being kept for their meat.
Some of the turtles “were so big it took three people to lift each one,” Andi Taqdir Rahmantiro, director of the Bali Police’s detectives unit said, adding that the biggest turtles weighed as much as 200 kilograms each.
Green turtles (chelonia mydas) were once commonly used in ritual sacrifices across the predominantly Hindu island, while their meat is a traditional delicacy. In recent years, however, there has been a shift toward symbolic sacrifices where the animals are released alive into the sea.
Andi said the animals were seized on Wednesday from a warehouse in Denpasar owned by Jero Mangku Buda. He added Buda had long fronted as a pork vendor, but actually sold turtle meat on the sly.
Police had staked out Buda’s food stall for months before posing as potential turtle meat buyers to make the arrest. During questioning, the suspect told investigators about the warehouse, just 200 meters away from the food stall.
Buda said he had bought the consignment of turtles for Rp 35 million ($3,850) from a fisherman at Amed Harbor in Karangasem a day earlier, who in turn had netted them in the Sulawesi Sea.
He did not tell police whether he had killed or sold any from the batch, but said he often sold off entire turtles for Rp 700,000 each, while serving up turtle meat for Rp 45,000 a portion.
“He says he’s only done it once before, but we’re not buying it,” Bali Police spokesman Gde Sugianyar Dwi Putra said. “In the meantime, we’re tracking down the supplier.”
Buda would likely be charged with poaching, which could see him face up to five years in prison and Rp 100 million in fines, Sugianyar said.
Police will deliver the 71 turtles to the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) office in Bali, which plans to release them into the sea from Kuta Beach.
“For now, though, we’ll keeping them at the turtle conservation center in Serangan,” BKSDA Bali head Pamen Sitorus said.
Indonesia implemented a turtle trade ban in 1999, and rejected a proposal last year by Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika to set an annual quota of 1,000 animals for sacrificial ceremonies. However, high demand has driven the trade underground, with police foiling several smuggling attempts in recent years.
In February 2009, police stopped a boat carrying 26 turtles, while in July a shipment of 42 turtles from Java was foiled. In September, authorities seized 140 kilograms of turtle meat.
