The Jakarta Globe 26 Apr 09;
Jember. The Natural Resources Conservation Agency of Jember district, East Java Province, will conduct field checks on the alleged circulation of protected turtle eggs in traditional markets, an agency spokesman said over the weekend.
“[Sea] turtles are rare and are protected because their population is facing extinction. People are not allowed to sell their eggs in free markets,” agency head for East Java’s Region III, Abdullah Effendi said.
Agency officials had frequently found and foiled poachers of turtle eggs in the nature reserve area of Nusa Barong Island, which is widely known to be a nesting area for the turtles.
Effendi did not know about the recent circulation of illegal turtle eggs in a number of traditional markets in Jember.
“We will carry out field checks in traditional markets where people are suspected to be selling turtle eggs illegally,” Effendi said.
A number of locals said they had found turtle eggs had been secretly sold to consumers.
Setiorini, a local resident, admitted she had been offered turtle eggs on the sly. She reported that she had been offered the eggs while buying fish at the Puger Fish Auction Market.
“Unexpectedly, a trader whispered to me, offering turtle eggs,” Setyorini said.
She said that merchants offered the eggs to consumers for between Rp 2,000 (18 cents) and Rp 3,000 each. Meanwhile, environmental group WWF has launched a campaign to stop Malaysians from eating turtle eggs, in a bid to help save the marine creatures from extinction.
Turtle eggs are openly sold in markets in some parts of Malaysia. Thousands of sea turtles once migrated to Malaysian beaches annually to lay their eggs, but are now increasingly rare due to poaching and extensive coastal development.
The five-month online campaign aims to collect 40,000 signatures from Malaysians pledging that they will stop consuming the eggs and halt all trade in turtles and their parts.
“Turtles play a critical role in keeping marine ecosystems healthy,” WWF Malaysia executive director Dionysius S.K. Sharma said.
“Marine turtles are threatened with extinction due to various factors, including the practice of consuming turtle eggs, becoming accidentally caught
in fishing gear, poorly planned coastal development, marine and nesting beach pollution as well as illegal trade of turtles and their parts,” he said.
Under Malaysian law, it is illegal to collect turtle eggs without a permit from the country’s fisheries department, but steady demand for turtle products and eggs in Southeast Asia continues to drive the illegal trade.
Antara, AFP
