Turtle poaching still rampant on Enggano Island

Antara News, Mon, May 16 2011

Turtle poaching activities on Enggano Island was a big concern because the animal was used not only for traditional ceremonies but for commercial purposes as well.

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Bengkulu, Sumatra (ANTARA News) - Turtle poaching and illegal trading are still rampant on Enggano island North Bengkulu District, Bengkulu Province, Sumatra Island, a local resident said

"Last week, a 100-kg leatherback sea turtle was poached and its meat was sold, while its shell was thrown away into the sea," Zulvan Zaviery, a resident of Enggano, said here Monday.

Turtle poaching activities on Enggano Island was a big concern because the animal was used not only for traditional ceremonies but for commercial purposes as well, he said.

In fact, turtle meat was not a must in a traditional ceremony menu, he said, adding, however, poaching continued.

Head of the Enggano Island Nature Resource Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Rendra Regen Rais said turtle poaching on the country`s outer most island was very rampant.

The population of turtle on the island has dropped drastically due to massive poaching activities for commercial purposes, according to him.

Enggano Island beach is the habitat of several turtles which lay eggs there. Besides poaching, lizards and wild boars also eat turtle eggs.

According to data of BKSDA, there are five species of endangered turtle in Bengkulu waters, namely leatherback turtle, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), and ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea).

Editor: Ella Syafputri

Giant sea turtle found in Bengkulu lake

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 02/14/2011

A rare endangered giant leatherback sea turtle with a shell two meters in diameter and weighing hundreds of kilograms has been found in Langut lake, Bengkulu, an activist says.

Locally called penyu belimbing, the turtle was found on Sunday night at the turtle conservation area in Retak Ilir village, Muko-muko regency, Turtle Conservation secretary Khairul Amra said in Bengkulu on Monday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.

A total of 65 eggs thought to have been laid by the turtle were also found nearby, he said, in addition to 112 eggs previously discovered.

Khairul said that it was the third giant leatherback turtle that was found in the conservation area this month.

The turtles, which could live dozens of years, would be released to the sea while the eggs would be hatched, he said.

"It will be the first time for us to carry out the hatching process. Hopefully it will work," he said.

Local Natural Resources Conservation Agency head Amon Zamora said that he had not received any report about the findings but the agency would support efforts to hatch the eggs.

Leatherback turtles were a protected species at the brink of extinction, according to Amon.

Illegal trade

The Jakarta Post, Nyoman Budhiana, Antara, Bali | Mon, 01/10/2011

Police and Bali Natural Resources and Conservation Center officers measure green sea turtles at the Bali water police patrol office in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday. The team foiled an illegal attempt to trade the 38 sea turtles from Madura to Bali.

Banyan Tree Bintan hotel released sea turtle hatchlings to sea

Antara News, Tuesday, October 5, 2010 01:54 WIB

Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - A number of sea turtle hatchlings found their way to the open sea as released by the Banyan Tree Bintan Resort and Hotel of Riau Islands at Lagoi Beach, Bintan witnessed by hundreds of foreign tourists on Sunday evening.

"This campaign was conducted to preserve the ecosystem balance and to save the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) from extinction," the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager of Banyan Tree Bintan Resort and Hotel, Henry Ali Singer said here Monday.

"There were still 220 sea turtle eggs estimated to hatch in the mid-October 2010 in the hatchery," he said.

The last four months, banyan Tree Bintan had released 364 sea turtle hatchlings originated from eggs collected from Panjang Beach, Lagoi tourism spot in the nesting time in March-September, he said.

The Manager of Banyan Tree Bintan, Herman Puspa released the first hatchling to the sea witnessed by hundreds of enthusiastic foreign tourists, especially children.

The tourists documented the struggle of the hatchlings to reach the open sea from the shoreline.

The crowd was getting louder to encourage the hatchlings to reach the sea creating a blithe atmosphere in the campaign.

"The tourists were pleased to witness this rare moment. It was the first experience for most of the tourists, especially kids, and they will show their documentations of the rare occasion to their relatives and friends back in their countries," Henry said.

Each of the hatchling weigh around 15 gram at the day it born, much lighter than the egg itself that weigh 25 gram, he said, adding that the turtle eggs were buried 50 cm deep in sand until they hatch 50-60 days afterward.

A sea turtle could lay 150 eggs at a time in the nesting time, but it takes around 30 years and even decades for sea turtle to reach sexual maturity, he said.

According to the research, only one percent of the hatchlings could survive in the ocean, he said.

However, the management relocated the sea turtle eggs from the natural nesting ground to secure them from human threat as some people consume the eggs and sell them in the market.

"Some animals such as wild hogs and monitor lizards like to eat sea turtles," he said.

Environment Watch: Conservation program nurtures love of animal

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta | Fri, 10/01/2010 8:27 AM

Tens of young students from TK ABA kindergarten in Bantul, Yogyakarta, helped release infant turtles into the sea on Goa Cemara beach on Wednesday.

Before the turtles were released, the children were taken to a turtle hatchery set up by residents, who live nearby in Sanden village.

At the hatchery, the children were introduced to the species by Wahadi, chief of the Goa Cemara Beach Tourism Awareness Group.

Wahadi explained in detail about the animal’s life cycle, beginning with when they were eggs, and discussed their role in the ecosystem.

“We hatched the turtles from the eggs found along the beach by residents. We then put them in the hatchery,” he said.

The eggs placed by the residents in the hatchery were then left for 45 days to hatch.

Once hatched, the young turtles, locally known as tukik, were immediately released into the sea. The infants too weak to be released were held by the residents, who will nurture them for about a month before releasing them. The residents finance the program privately.

Wahadi said the hatchery was currently home to 100 turtle eggs, 19 of which had hatched.

“The 19 young turtles were released today. This program is important to make people love animals from an early age,” he said.

He said the turtle conservation program had been started spontaneously when residents launched an environmental program aimed at protecting the beach’s ecosystem in 1994.

The residents, he said, had planted 10 hectares of pine groves behind the beach, prompting residents to rename it Goa Cemara (fir cave) beach.

“In the beginning, the trees were planted to ensure strong winds did not affect coastal plants along the area and as barrier against strong waves,” Wahadi said. “Now, many residents are spending their time relaxing on the beach.”

Bali Police Pull Endangered Turtles From the Pot

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, May 19, 2010

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.