What we are trying to achieve

Aim

Establish nesting densities of sea turtles on ALL beaches in the State of Terengganu, Malaysia.

Objectives

  1. Establish a technique for estimating sea turtle nesting populations from body pits and using it to estimate the total number of nests and nesting individual sea turtles from all beaches in the State of Terengganu;
  2. Increase global awareness of the plight of all 4 species of sea turtles in the State of Terengganu;
  3. Raise RM100,000 which will be donated to 6 sea turtle conservation projects throughout the State of Terengganu;

Beaches in the State of Terengganu (Rantau abang) were once heralded as the world’s number 1 Leatherback turtle rockery but now they are almost locally extinct.  The populations of all species of sea turtles in Terengganu have decreased by a minimum of 80% since the 1950’s.  The collection of nesting numbers is vital for sea turtle conservation but has never been conducted statewide and is now, due to the low nesting densities, not cost-effective therefore the walk will provide invaluable data which the decision makers would otherwise have.

Conserving the Sea turtles of Terengganu is important for cultural reasons as much as it is for ecological reasons.  The emblem of Terengganu was previously a sea turtle but has since been replaced by a Clown Anemonefish.  Sea turtles are model “flagship species” for both local and international conservation; by focusing on these charismatic animals and their habitats, vast areas of the oceans have to be taken into consideration, and managed adequately. In a word: sea turtles are “ambassadors of the oceans”, for conserving these animals means protecting the seas and coastal areas, which in turn means protecting a complex, interconnected world on which human societies depend.

Before sea turtles nest they dig a pit, known as a body pit, in the sand and then they dig a hole with their hind flippers in which they lay their eggs.  Using known densities of successful turtle nests and the number of turtle body pits from projects in Redang and Perhentian we can estimate the number of successful turtle nests on beaches which are unknown by counting the body pits.  This method has not been used elsewhere though has been suggested as a possible method for estimating nesting populations.

The majority of the Malaysian general public know about the Leatherback turtles of Rantau Abang but the purpose of the walk is to spread awareness about the other three species of sea turtle which are facing a similar fate.  The major threats to the sea turtles are human induced and before these species can be saved the general public needs increased awareness about the species.

There are many sea turtle projects operating in the State of Terengganu.  The walk aims to raise RM100,000 which will be given to 6 of the projects in the state.  Help Our Penyu will be using 75% of the donations to fund Phase 1 of the project in Pulau Perhentian which will establish a second turtle hatchery in the marine park and provide infrastructure to enable volunteers to live in the village creating greater economic benefits for the villagers.  The five other projects will each receive 5% of the donations helping to support them.  The 5 projects are as follows;

MEKAR – Community-led organization based in Setiu;

SeaTRU – sea turtle research group at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and runs the project at Chagar Hutang;

Ma’ Daerah – a community based project based in Kerteh which employs ex-egg collectors as hatchery staff;

Turtle Conservation Centre – A new organization set up by Prof Chan which protects turtles in Penarik, Setiu;

Gemia Island Resort – this resort buys eggs from local egg collectors and incubates them at their resort;

Please email Daniel@helpourpenyu.com for the Help Our Penyu project proposal.

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