TED saves turtles and helps fishermen increase income

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KEMAMAN: The Turtle Excluder Device (TED) has been proven to save turtles and small fishes from being trapped along with rubbish in the funnel of trawling nets.

“We encourage all fishermen using trawling nets to use TED, as it has been proven to increase their income, because catches like fish and shrimp are cleaner, it saves fuel and nets last longer,” said Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood.

“And most important, we can save turtles which are trapped in the trawling nets. This will put, Kemaman and Malaysia on the map as being among the best turtle conservation sites at regional and international levels,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters after opening the TED study seminar, here yesterday.

Also present were Terengganu Fisheries director Abdul Khalil Abdul Karim, Rantau Abang Fisheries Research Institute chief Syed Abdullah Syed Abdul Kadir and Marine Research Foundation chairman Dr Nicolas Pilcher.

He said there were frequent cases of turtles getting trapped in fishing equipment such as trawling and skate nets in the east coast, with Terengganu alone recording 20 to 40 deaths a year.

If this situation was prolonged it could lead to the extinction of turtles, especially in Terengganu, in the long run, he emphasised.

Ahamad Sabki said the Fisheries Department signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Huntsman-Tioxide (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for the management and conservation of turtles in Terengganu, on Thursday.

A study involving three local fishing boats installed with TED, two years ago, found positive results whereby turtles were saved, shrimp and fish catches increased and reduction in fuel cost, he elaborated.

TED was priced at RM700 per unit, but if more fishermen used the device, it could be made with the help of Fisheries officers at RM500 each, he said.

The MoU is focused on turtle conservation activities at Pantai Teluk Maknik here, as it recorded an average of more than 1,000 nests per annum in the past four years (2009-2012).

This makes the beach the highest turtle nesting site in Peninsular Malaysia and the third in the country after Pantai Teluk Selingan, Sabah and Pantai Pulau Talang Talang (Sarawak). — Bernama