Farik Zolpekpli The Star 28 Jun 12;
KUALA TERENGGANU: In the spirit of saving sea turtles from extinction, more than 1,000 people converged to Bazaar Warisan here to mark the first ever World Sea Turtle Day celebration in Terengganu.
Jointly organised by WWF-Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), the gala event, saw Terengganu people from all ages and background participating in various activities with the theme Telur Penyu, Beli Jangan, Makan Pun Tidak (Don’t buy or eat Turtle eggs).
Even the state football team nicknamed the Turtles got into the action of actively promoting more awareness on the plight of the sea turtles.
The activities held, included turtle-face paintings, turtle dances as well as an exhibition on the turtles but the highlight was spreading the message against selling and eating turtle eggs at Pasar Payang, famous for the sales of turtle eggs.
WWF Terengganu Turtle Conservation Programme head Rahayu Zulkifli said the fight to save the turtles must begin with banning the sale of the eggs as well as create more awareness for people not to buy or eat them.
“Only Sabah and Sarawak imposed outright ban on the eggs while in Terengganu, only the sale of leatherback turtle eggs are banned.
“We have been urging the state government to imposed the ban for a long time as the sea turtles are an endangered species...banning the egg sales will definitely improve their survival,” she told a press conference after the launch of the celebrations recently.
She said in Terengganu, an average of 15 turtle deaths occurred each year thus every concerted effort must be made towards turtle conservation.
“The response from the public for the event is tremendous. I am confident it marks a new phase in our struggle to save the turtles.
“The mainland beaches of Terengganu are currently home to one of the largest green turtle population in the Peninsular Malaysia, averaging between 2,000 and 2,500 nests per year,” she said.
She also hoped the state government would consider introducing the law to ban the sale of turtle eggs soon.
Meanwhile, UMT researcher and conservationist Dr Juanita Joseph said the demands for turtle eggs were mostly from tourists and visitors to Terengganu.
“This culture must stop. We must do everything we can to save the turtles.
“Two-prong approach of introducing laws and educating the public are essential to the survival of the turtles,” she said.
Terengganu football team captain Mohd Sharbinee Alawee said the team was proud to lend its support towards a honourable cause.
“Besides on the field, we also want to inspire people to do good in helping to save the turtles.
“The fight to save them begins with each and everyone of us,” he said.
The World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated simultaneously in Terengganu, Malacca and Sabah in a bid to raise awareness on the need to protect the endangered species and their nesting beaches.
The three states were chosen for their importance in turtle conservation.
Public must not sell, buy and eat turtle eggs, urges WWF-Malaysia
Farik Zolkepli The Star 28 Jun 12;
KUALA TERENGGANU: If only tourists did not eat turtle eggs, they would be able to see more of the animals in Terengganu.
WWF-Malaysia executive director and CEO Dr Dionysius Sharma said the public should stop buying and eating turtle eggs as “the practice creates demand for something that in fact needs to be protected”.
A check by The Star revealed that tourists flocked to Pasar Payang, which is one of the famous markets here where turtle eggs were sold, to get a taste of the eggs. Some tourists even bought them as souvenirs. A pack of turtle eggs can be sold for as high as RM30.
Eggs from several species of turtles including the endangered leatherback turtle are sold in markets in Terengganu as there is no law in the state that comprehensively bans their sale and consumption.
Several non-governmental organisations such as the Turtle Conservation Society (TCS) and WWF-Malaysia have stepped up the fight to save the turtles by discouraging the public, especially the locals, from eating the eggs and even selling them.
Turtle Conservation Society (TCS) co-founder Chen Pelf Nyok said the organisation had conducted many programmes over the years to teach the locals, especially villagers living along the seashores, about the negative impact on the turtles by eating their eggs.
“The villagers have been eating turtle eggs for many years. We have gone to such villages and asked them to stop selling and eating the eggs as it contributes to the decline in the number of turtles,” she said yesterday.
Chen revealed that some villages had heeded their calls.
“Villagers did not even know the turtles are an endangered species (prior to the campaigns),” she said.
Chen said TCS had actively conducted research and conservation efforts in Setiu and Kemaman.
By limiting the consumption and sale of turtle eggs, Chen said it increased the chance for eggs to hatch.
WWF-Malaysia's Dr Sharma called upon the government to legislate a law against the sale of turtle eggs irrespective of species nationwide.
WWF-Malaysia maintains continued sale of turtle eggs defeats conservation efforts
WWF 9 Jul 12;
PETALING JAYA, July 9 – WWF-Malaysia continues its call for the ban on the sale of turtle eggs which would be a major step for the conservation of this endangered species. The national conservation trust responds to the statements made by Y.B. Dato’ Toh Chin Yaw, Terengganu Environment Committee chairman as reported by The Star in ‘T’ganu has no plan to ban sale of turtle eggs’, July 2 2012. The article quoted Y.B. Dato’ Toh as saying that the state does not encourage the sale or consumption of the eggs, but has no plans to ban these practices.
WWF-Malaysia firmly believes that for turtle conservation efforts to be effective and to achieve the desired conservation outcome, they must be carried out simultaneously on several fronts. These include the protection of nesting beaches, creating public awareness, strict enforcement of relevant laws and regulations, as well as the ban on the sale of turtle egg. Removal of turtle eggs from nesting beaches for consumption is known to be a major contributor to the declining turtle population.
WWF-Malaysia applauds the Terengganu State Government in gazetting Rantau Abang beach as a turtle sanctuary. However, the gazettement of a nesting beach whilst at the same time allowing the sale of turtle eggs is inconsistent, and runs contrary to the objectives of safeguarding the state’s icon.
YB Datuk Toh’s remark that it is not fair to force the people to stop eating turtle eggs altogether as it has been a culture of the locals is untenable especially when all the marine turtle species found in the country are either endangered or critically endangered. If no action is taken to ban the sale of turtle eggs, the declining turtle population will not recover, and their population decline may eventually be irreversible.
Based on the outreach activities carried out by WWF-Malaysia and other turtle conservation NGOs in the state, more and more individuals, especially the younger generation are saying no to turtle egg consumption. Support from the public is not short on this as WWF-Malaysia garnered more than 100,000 signatures for the “Egg=Life” campaign in 2010. In line with it’s reputation as a “Turtle State”, the Terengganu government can only be highly commended if it chooses to take the lead in banning the sale of turtle eggs. Banning the sale of turtle eggs in Terengganu will be in line with the National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sea Turtles, which sets a national ban on the sale of turtle eggs as its Priority No 1.
Ban on sale of turtle eggs vital
The Star 10 Jul 12;
WWF-Malaysia continues its call for the ban on the sale of turtle eggs which would be a major step for the conservation of this endangered species.
The national conservation trust responds to the statements made by Datuk Toh Chin Yaw, Terengganu Environment Committee chairman in “T’ganu has no plan to ban sale of turtle eggs” (The Star, July 2).
The report quoted Toh as saying that the state does not encourage the sale or consumption of the eggs, but has no plans to ban the practice.
WWF-Malaysia firmly believes that for turtle conservation efforts to be effective and to achieve the desired conservation outcome, they must be carried out simultaneously on several fronts.
These include the protection of nesting beaches, creating public awareness, strict enforcement of relevant laws and regulations, as well as the ban on the sale of turtle eggs.
Removal of turtle eggs from nesting beaches for consumption is known to be a major con- tributor to the declining turtle population.
WWF-Malaysia applauds the Terengganu State Government for gazetting Rantau Abang beach as a turtle sanctuary.
However, the gazette of a nesting beach whilst at the same time allowing the sale of turtle eggs is inconsistent, and runs contrary to the objectives of safeguarding the state’s icon.
Toh’s remark that it is not fair to force the people to stop eating turtle eggs altogether as it has been a culture of the locals is untenable especially when all the marine turtle species found in the country are either endangered or critically endangered.
If no action is taken to ban the sale of turtle eggs, the declining turtle population will not recover, and their decline may eventually be irreversible.
Based on the outreach activities carried out by WWF-Malaysia and other turtle conservation NGOs in the state, more and more individuals, especially the younger generation are saying “no” to turtle egg consumption.
Support from the public is not short on this as WWF-Malaysia garnered more than 100,000 signatures for the “Egg=Life” campaign in 2010.
In line with its reputation as a “Turtle State”, the Terengganu Government can only be highly commended if it chooses to take the lead in banning the sale of turtle eggs.
Banning the sale of turtle eggs in Terengganu will be in line with the National Plan of Action for Conservation and Management of Sea Turtles, which sets a national ban on the sale of turtle eggs as its Priority No 1.
WWF-Malaysia
Petaling Jaya
