13 turtles released in waters off Big Sister's Island for conservation study

Milton Sau Channel NewsAsia 24 Aug 10;

SINGAPORE : The waters around Singapore's southern Big Sister's Island are the study grounds for a project to protect endangered turtles.

Thirteen second-generation Hawksbill turtles have been released as part of the project.

The project is a collaboration by Singapore's Underwater World, Japan's Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium and an American marine agency, the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration.

As part of Underwater World Singapore's conservation education programme, over 100 observers were present to witness the release. They include 20 students from CHIJ Kellock and representatives from groups such as Life Sciences Society of the National University of Singapore, PadiAware, Scouts and Wild Singapore.

Satellite trackers have been attached to the turtles to give researchers a better idea of how they behave.

Professor Peter Ng Kee Lin, director, Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, said: "One of the things about turtles is that we know very little about what they are doing out there in the wild...how far they go, where they are heading, do they go far from where they are released.

"I think the basic belief right now is, the more we know how they are moving out there, the more we can devise good conservation management."

Anthony Chang, curator, Underwater World Singapore, said: "We have decided that perhaps the Big Sister's island is the most ideal one, given the profile of the beach as well the lesser boat traffic around this area. Obviously, we would not want to release the turtles and have a boat hit them." - CNA/ms

Turtles make a splash for science
Conservation bid sees 8 of 18 hawksbill turtles freed fitted with tracking devices
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 25 Aug 10;

EIGHTEEN critically endangered hawksbill turtles, eight of them fitted with tracking devices, raced to the sea yesterday at Big Sister Island (Pulau Subar Laut), south of Sentosa.

The event is thought to be the first tagging and release of captive-bred hawksbill turtles in the world, according to experts The Straits Times spoke to. Globally, only about 60 to 80 nesting hawksbill turtles have been tagged.

Of those released yesterday, 13 were young turtles from the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium in Japan. They had been bred in captivity from parents donated by Underwater World Singapore (UWS) in 1997 and 2002.

In a collaboration between the aquariums and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Hawaii, eight of the turtles, all aged three, were fitted with satellite-linked tags, which will beam location information to the aquariums via France and the United States.

Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research director Peter Ng said: 'Five of the seven species of sea turtles can be found locally, with sightings of the hawksbill occurring frequently, making it a very important focal point for conservation.

'We must learn their idiosyncrasies before we can plan to protect them.'

Hawksbill turtles are threatened by fishing practices, and are also caught for food and to make items such as combs from their shells.

Each tracking device, which costs around US$2,000 (S$2,700), transmits every 45 seconds when the turtle is on the ocean's surface. It is hoped that six months of data will be collected before the devices run out of battery, or drop off as the turtles grow.

Five 1 1/2-year-old turtles, with shells measuring 30cm across, were too small to be tagged. The remaining five adult turtles - two males and three females - were resident at UWS for about 16 years, and were picked from the 19 such turtles there for release due to their good health and chances of survival.

Although the turtles have spent their lives in captivity, the experts are confident of their survival in the wild.

Said NOAA turtle expert George Balazs: 'Turtles are not highly evolved and are more inclined to their survival instincts than any intellectual thought process, so they are more likely to adapt well to the wild, unlike captive-bred dolphins, for example.'

UWS curator Anthony Chang added: 'The turtles have undergone conditioning for the wild. We created something that looks like a shallow reef and put food under rocks to get them used to searching for food.'

Turtle power
Victoria Vaughan Straits Times 24 Aug 10;

CRITICALLY endangered captive bred turtles tagged with tracking devices sped to the sea, the first release of its kind on these shores.

A total of 18 hawksbill turtles, eight of which were fitted with a tracking device, were returned to the sea on Tuesday at Big Sister Island (Pulau Subar Laut).

Globally only about 60 to 80 nesting hawksbill turtles have been tagged and this is thought to be the first release and tagging of captive bred hawksbill turtles.

Turtles are threatened by fishing practices as well as direct catching for food and crafts made from their shells. Thirteen young turtles came from Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium having been bred in captivity from parents donated from Underwater World Singapore (UWS) in 1997 and 2002.

In a collaboration between the two aquariums and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) eight of these turtles, aged three, were fitted with satellite tags which will beam back location information. Five one-and-half year old turtles, with shells measuring 30cms, were too small to tag.

The remaining five adult turtles released, two male three female, were resident at Underwater World Singapore for about 16 years. They were picked from the 19 such turtles for release due to their good health and chance of survival.

Endangered Hawksbill turtles released off Singapore
(AFP) Google News 24 Aug 10;

SINGAPORE — Thirteen endangered sea turtles born and bred in Japan were released off Singapore waters Tuesday as part of efforts to conserve the species.

The five one-year-olds and eight three-year-olds are the offspring of Hawksbill turtles donated by the Underwater World Singapore aquarium to the Port of Nagoya aquarium in 1997 and 2002.

They were brought to Singapore earlier this year and kept at the Underwater World aquarium before the eventual release into their natural habitat.

"I feel a sense of great relief because the turtles are where they belong,' George Balazs, biologist and leader of marine turtle research at the Hawaii-based Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.

"Sea turtles in the sea," the scientist said after the last turtle swam into the water.

The three-year-olds were fitted with satellite tracking devices so that scientists can follow their progress.

The turtles were first transported in boxes from nearby Sentosa island and then released on a stretch of beach on Big Sister's Island.

They crawled down the beach to the water's edge and disappeared into the sea as conservationists, scientists, students and the media erupted into cheers and applause.

"This release project has our strong desire that we want to return those Japanese-born turtles to Singaporean sea (which is) the native place of their parents," said Makoto Soichi, director with the Nagoya aquarium.

Underwater World Singapore said cooperation was key to efforts to conserve turtles which are regarded as a delicacy in parts of Asia.

"We hope that our integrated and collaborative efforts will contribute to our better understanding of Hawksbill turtle behaviour and improve turtle conservation efforts," said Peter chew, deputy general manager of the Singapore aquarium.

Turtle soup is a delicacy in parts of Asia and turtle shells are crushed into powder for use in a jelly dessert.

The Hawksbill shell is also used to make products like combs, ornamental hairpins and glasses frames.

Speech from Hawksbill turtle tag and release event
AsiaOne 24 Aug 10;

Full text of speech by Dr Mohamad Maliki bin Osman, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development:

Mr Chng Hwee Hong, Executive Director, Haw Par Corporation and Deputy Chairman, Underwater World Singapore,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Students and Teachers,

Good afternoon. I am happy to join you today at Big Sister's Island for the Hawksbill Turtle Tag and Release event. I note that the event, hosted by the Underwater World Singapore, has been organised in commemoration of the International Year of Biodiversity.

The United Nations has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of the variety of life on Earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. As we learn to appreciate the wonders of nature, it is important that we also understand that everyone is dependent on nature and the natural ecosystems that support biodiversity. It is important that all parties come together to share their knowledge and experience on how best to safeguard the Earth's biodiversity.

Singapore, despite being a small country with competing needs for limited resources, has strived to balance economic development and biodiversity conservation. We are also committed to contributing to biodiversity conservation at the international level. In fact, Singapore is working with the Convention on Biological Diversity (or CBD) Secretariat on developing the CBD-led Cities' Biodiversity Index. This is being done in partnership with the Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity . There is currently a lack of self-assessment tools that cities can use in measuring their conservation efforts. The Cities' Biodiversity Index will hence go towards helping cities benchmark their biodiversity conservation efforts over time.

I would like to applaud the joint collaborative effort of Underwater World Singapore (UWS), the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium of Japan (PNPA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of USA (NOAA) to conserve the Hawksbill turtle. This species of turtle is internationally acknowledged as endangered and is listed as "critically endangered" in The Singapore Red Data Book - a source of reference for conservation plans and efforts of various governmental and non-governmental organisations published by Nature Society, Singapore.

I understand that satellite-tracking devices will be fitted on the turtles that will be released today to study their migratory behaviour, and the results would be shared at various international scientific forums this year. This study will help us to better understand the behaviour of Hawksbill turtles and improve turtle conservation efforts.

I am pleased to see that students and forum participants from this morning's multidisciplinary forum on turtle conservation have joined us for the turtle release. With concerted and coordinated efforts by scientists, and the passionate support of individuals like you, our biodiversity conservation efforts will continue to be strengthened. If we work hard today, our children and grandchildren will also get their chance to enjoy the richness of nature that we today enjoy. Thank you.

Related links
Sea turtle release at Big Sisters: will they make it? on wild shores of singapore.