Environmental Stewardship Rating

Title	Votes	Rating	Review
Turtle Bay Divers, Perhentian	1	4.6	0
Gem Island Resort, Gemia Island	1	4.2	0
Bubbles Dive Resort, Perhentian	6	4.1	0
D’Lagoon, Perhentian	2	3.3	0
Arwana, Perhentian	1	1.0	0
Seahorse Dive Centre, Perhentian	0	0	0
Quiver Dive Centre, Perhentian	0	0	0
Tuna Bay, Perhentian	0	0	0
Perhentian Island Resort, Perhentian	0	0	0
Flora Bay, Perhentian	0	0	0
Bayu Dive Lodge and Alu Alu	0	0	0
Mira Beach, Perhentian	0	0	0
Matahari Chalet, Perhentian	0	0	0
Petani Beach Chalets, Perhentian	0	0	0
Bubu, Perhentian	0	0	0
Abdul Chalet, Perhentian	0	0	0
Watercolours, Perhentian	0	0	0
Mama’s Chalet, Perhentian	0	0	0

Turtle Conservation Rating

Title	Votes	Rating	Review
Gem Island Resort, Gemia Island	1	4.0	0
Bubbles Dive Resort, Perhentian	6	3.8	0
D’Lagoon, Perhentian	2	3.4	0

Perhaps you want to see and play your part in turtle conservation, but can’t take enough time off to volunteer.  Perhaps you have children and other dependants which would make volunteering difficult.

If this is the case, then why don’t you use our turtle and environmental rating guide to choose your next coastal holiday in Malaysia.  In addition if you book through our partner organisation Ecoteer Responsible Travel, they will donate 5% of your fee to HOPE.

This means you can go on holiday and still know that you are helping sea turtles in Malaysia.

Our rating system explained

Environmental Stewardship

At HOPE, we believe it is important for all resorts to play their part in looking after the marine and coastal environment which is the home of the sea turtles and all the other marine creatures that we go to see.  Therefore, we have decided to start up a rating system that allows the general public to rate resorts dependant on the resorts Environmental Stewardship.

We have split this up into 5 main sections

1) Regular beach cleans

Rubbish regularly washes up from the sea and by doing regular beach cleans the resort is helping to reduce the amount of litter in the sea.  The resorts should also encourage the guests to join in the beach cleans as most of the rubbish around the islands is caused by the tourists.

2) Recycling

To reduce the issue of rubbish further each resort should have a recycling scheme to reduce the amount of waste they produce in the first place.  Prevention is better than cure.

3) Environmental brief during diving or snorkelling

Before each dive or snorkel the guide should brief you on the health and safety as well as how to reduce your impact on the reef environment.  They should inform you on the etiqutte of eco-snorkelling and diving. for example

1. no fins during snorkelling
2. dont break off the coral
3. only use biodegradable sun tan lotion (traditional sun tan lotion has been highlighted as a major problem for coral reefs of the Great Barrier reef in Australia)
4. Dont urinate whilst in the sea (Urine contains ammonia and nitrogen which has been highlighted as a reason why it is more common for algae to smoother coral at popular dive and snorkel sites)
5. Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but bubbles!  so do not collect shells but you can collect litter which has no marine life growing on it.

4) No touch policy

Many marine organisms do not like being touched by humans and like coral can be killed by us touching it.  It is also important to NEVER touch or harass sea turtles or any of the larger members of the coral reefs.

5) Information display area and/or regular talks

This is summed up by a quote from Baba Dioum

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love:

We will love only what we understand:

And we will understand only what we have been taught.”

For the resorts practising turtle conservation we have the additional rating system as below.

Turtle Conservation Rating

We have 4 criteria for assessing the turtle conservation practices of relevant resorts.

1) Obstacles removed from the nesting beach

Obstacles on the beach like logs, rubbish, chairs, sun loungers and even sand castles can cause a nesting Green turtles to return to the sea and not nest.  This is why it is important that the nesting beaches are clear of all possible obstacles for nesting turtles.

2) Reduction of light on the nesting beach at night

Sea turtles, in particular Green Turtles, are very shy and weary when they nest on a beach.  Light is big factor with turtles preferring dark beaches to lay their eggs.  This is why it is important for resorts near to turtle nesting beaches to ensure the amount of light going onto the beach is minimal.  Using red light or low-pressure sodium-vapor lighting are good ways for a resort to solve the problem of disturbances caused to nesting turtles.

3) Proper turtle watch procedures followed

Many tour companies and resorts operate turtle watches.  As the turtles are very shy it is important the follow procedures are followed

1. The group size is less than 10;
2. Everyone is to be silent;
3. The only light should be with the leader and it should be a red light not white;
4. No one should get closer than 3m of the nesting turtle and they should stay out of the sight of the turtle;
5. No camera’s should be allowed;

4) Releasing method of hatchlings

If the project incubates the eggs the releasing of the hatchlings should follow the following guidelines.

1. Hatchlings should be released as soon as it is dark on the first day they hatch – they should NOT be kept in pools.  This is vital because the hatchlings have a natural instinct to swim almost non stop for 2-3 days after they hatch.  This is the hatchlings main natural defence against predators and  holding the turtles in tanks for 1 day to 6 months will make the hatchlings lazy when they are released and still not big enough to be eaten by predators.  If the hatchlings are kept for more than 6 months this is better however we do not know the impact it would cause to their natural instinct to survive so is better not to do.  In some circumstances it is acceptable to hold hatchlings before releasing them but only if they are blind or injured.
2. Hatchlings should be released after dark, not at dusk, dawn or during the day.  The reason behind this is that turtle hatchlings naturally erupt after its dark to help them avoid predation in the shallower water.
3. When releasing hatchlings they should be allowed to crawl over sand at least 3m above the high tide mark.