Some of the newly hatched baby Green turtles to be released soon.
KUALA PENYU: A gallant new program initiated by the Kuala Penyu District Office and the Sabah Wildlife Department is all set to help marine turtles make a comeback in Kuala Penyu.
Kuala Penyu district officer Edmond Teoh said that in the past the conservation of the marine turtles in Kuala Penyu was never given a priority even though Kuala Penyu was named as such because of the historical past landing of turtles in the beaches.
“Those days turtle landings were quite common but due to irresponsible individuals who harvested the eggs and even sometimes the female turtle itself, the number of turtle landing has dropped considerably in the last years,” said Teoh.
“That’s why all of us in the District Action Committee unanimously decided to start a Turtle Hatchery Program, hoping that the turtle population here can increase in the future, thus the number of turtle landings as well. We have entrusted the Sabah Wildlife Department to assist and manage the activities within this program,” he said.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu praised the Kuala Penyu district office for initiating such a wonderful and noble effort.
He said the Sabah Wildlife Department fully supported Kuala Penyu’s Turtle Conservation and Hatchery Program, which hopefully through its activities, would be able to bring back the ‘Penyus’ to Kuala Penyu.
In fact there has been already some very early success in this program. “One of the participants of a Turtle Awareness Program that was organized by my department recently in Kuala Penyu for community leaders and relevant government officers, Guachin Jusoh from the Department of Fisheries in Kuala Penyu, had found a turtle-nesting site and transferred 102 eggs to a safe designated Turtle Hatchery Centre on April 23, 2014. Fifty-six days later on June 18, 92 baby Hawksbill turtles successfully hatched and released along the beaches of Kampung Menumpang. Another 105 turtle eggs have been transferred to the hatchery on June 1 and we hope another batch of baby turtles will be released soon as well,” said Ambu.
With the general enthusiasm showed by the Kuala Penyu district office, the community leaders and the local people there I have my sincere hope that the turtles in Kuala Penyu will make a comeback. This program will take some time to have a direct effect on increasing the turtle population and turtle landings but it is on the right track for success,” he added.