Smuggled Turtle Eggs Seized Near Malaysian Border

Jakarta Globe 19 Apr 11;

Pontianak. Authorities in West Kalimantan stopped more than 3,000 turtle eggs from being smuggled across the Malaysian border in a recent bust, an official said on Sunday.

Bambang Nugroho, head of Pontianak’s marine resources and fisheries surveillance office (P2SDKP), said the cargo was confiscated from a fruit truck at the Jagoi Babang border checkpoint in Bengkayang district at around 7 p.m. on Friday.

Soldiers and a P2SDKP team stationed at the checkpoint leading to Sarawak had found six boxes of turtle eggs hidden inside the vehicle, which was carrying mangoes, Bambang said.

“There were 3,405 turtle eggs. The eggs, seized as evidence, are now at the P2SDKP’s office in Pontianak,” he said.

The truck driver, who was brought in for questioning, told officials he was delivering mangoes from Pemangkat town in West Kalimantan to Serikin, Malaysia, just across the border.

Turtle egg smuggling is common in the region, according to Dwi Suprapti, a World Wildlife Fund coordinator based in Paloh, Sambas district.

The eggs fetch higher sums in Malaysia — one of the world’s biggest consumers, according to the WWF — where the product is considered a delicacy, Dwi said.

A box of 10 turtle eggs usually sell for Rp 1,200 (14 cents) in Indonesia, while wholesale buyers in Serikin pay 10 ringgit ($3.3) for the same package, she said.

“[The turtle eggs] are then sold by piece at markets, fetching up to 2 Malaysian ringgit each,” she added.

Dwi said one of the illegal trade’s harvesting hotspots was in West Kalimantan’s Paloh beach. The 63-kilometer stretch of coastline is a favorite nesting ground for green turtles and hawksbill turtles — both under threat of extinction.

Most of the turtles lay their eggs within a 19.3-kilometer strip between the Belacan River and Mutusan between June and October, according to Dwi.

The International Union for Conservation for Nature has listed the green turtle as endangered and hawksbills as critically endangered due to hunting and habitat loss.

The IUCN expects these turtles’ numbers to fall by as much as 80 percent within three generations if the animals continue to be poached for their meat, eggs and shells.

Antara