Jack (right) and Winston (left) releasing turtle hatchlings into the sea. Also seen is Kuala Penyu district officer Sebastian Ingkim (second right).
KUALA PENYU: Locals must be empowered to play a role in conservation efforts so that future generations can inherit the wildlife and environmental wonders.
Jack Koh of Tempurong Golden Beach Resort said awareness must be created among locals so that they know if endangered species are not protected now, they may cease to exist in the future.
The beach resort, which was established in 2014 by Jack’s late father, is home to one of the few turtle conservation programmes in Sabah. Given its secluded location, Tempurong Golden Beach Resort works closely with the local community to further its conservation efforts.
“A few locals, who live near the beach area, have been told to bring turtles to us if they are found. These locals normally patrol the beach and have been taught the proper way of handling turtles,” said Jack.
He explained that once the turtles are brought to the facility, they are then placed in a marked area for them to bury their eggs. The area is then sealed off and confined to prevent monitor lizards and dogs, among others, from eating the eggs.
“We also put a date on the eggs so we can roughly tell how long it takes for them to hatch. From this method, we’ve established that it could take between 55 and 60 days,” Jack added.
This year, four batches of hatchlings have been released from Tempurong Golden Beach Resort.
Jack said they received the most number of eggs between November and April, namely, those of hawksbill turtles and green turtles.
“We get an average of 130 eggs per batch. For the first batch this year, over 120 hatchlings were released and we managed to get a similar number for the second batch, which is a good sign because over 90 percent of the eggs get hatched.
“These numbers are very little compared to what they get in the east coast, but for us, it’s quite a big deal because we don’t see that many turtles.
“We also recorded the highest number of turtles this year, which means there is improvement. In future, we could possibly market this as a tourism product,” said Jack.
He is optimistic conditions would continue to improve for the turtles, as more locals are now aware of the importance of its protection.
This is reflected in the decreasing number of locals consuming turtle eggs, said Jack, especially given their involvement in the conservation effort.
“There are about three or four volunteers from the local community that bring turtles to us when these are found on the beach. To show our gratitude to these volunteers, we organise events from time to time to make them feel proud and involved in doing this job.
“Now we are working towards spreading the news that if sea turtles are found in this area, they can be brought to us to support our conservation effort,” he said.
To ensure continuity and development of the effort, Jack hoped to conduct warden courses, which are open to the public, so that conservation becomes a default course of action.
He said the beach resort plans to link up with the Wildlife Department as well as other related agencies, to provide basic training in order to care for turtles.
“Warden courses can encourage locals to take part and can also provide an incentive or side income to empower them but most importantly, we want them to be involved in conservation,” he added.
Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) president Datuk Seri Winston Liaw, who organised a trip to Kuala Penyu to witness the release of hatchlings into the sea, said it was a meaningful act which had not been experienced by many. He added that he hoped this meant more turtles would come ashore to lay eggs.