Malaysia: Poaching of sea turtles 'rampant'

OLIVIA MIWIL New Straits Times 24 Mar 14;

READY MARKET: High demand for turtle meat from neighbouring countries

KUDAT: THE poaching of sea turtles at Pulau Tiga here is rampant because of the high demand from China and Vietnam, said a researcher from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Economist Dr James Alin, who has been doing research on the economic activity at the area for the past seven years, said the price for fresh turtle meat was RM300 per kilogramme and RM100 for dried meat.

"Middlemen usually buy the live sea turtles from islanders. They hide the turtles on Balambangan island before bringing them to Balabac Straits in the Philippines.

"From there, poachers will ship the sea turtles to either China or Vietnam."

Alin said there were claims the poachers were locals and people from nearby islands.

"A village head here complained there was a decline in the number of sea turtles coming to the beach since illegal immigrants started occupying neighbouring islands five years ago.

"Several times, the community saw pirates in their speedboats hunting turtles at the sea," he said, adding that reports had been lodged with the authorities.

Last year, the Philippines National Police Marine Group arrested local and foreign fishing vessel for possessing sea turtles.

"The arrest of poachers is a clear indication that the underground market is functioning well.

"Poaching in Pulau Tiga here is just one trail of the long supply chain extending from the islanders to middlemen at the bottom, up to the consumers in other countries."

Alin hoped the island, which was part of the proposed Tun Mustapha Park, would be gazetted soon to protect the biodiversity and prevent further environmental damage.

Senseless Loss of Endangered Sea Turtles in Pulau Tiga
WWF 26 Mar 14;

WWF-Malaysia is enraged by the recent senseless loss of endangered sea turtles in Pulau Tiga, an island under the proposed Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) in Sabah. Despite all efforts taken to protect the endangered species, and to raise awareness and build capacity of local communities in the area, poaching activities are still happening.

The discovery of the 60 slaughtered turtles reinforces the urgent need for a concerted effort to eradicate poaching activities in the proposed TMP, and Sabah, in general. The discovery reveals gaps in the enforcement of our laws on turtle protection; both the Sabah State Wildlife Enactment and the Federal Fisheries Act have provisions for turtle protection.

The needs as observed are as follows:

1. Sabah Wildlife Department needs to have assets and capacity to protect and enforce laws for marine species;

2. Enforcement agencies need to conduct more surveillance work;

3. Bureaucracies around the gazettement of TMP need to stop. As a multiple use and collaboratively managed park, TMP should provide a platform for collaboration among agencies and concerted effort for conservation and management of the area;

4. International and regional forums such as the Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion (SSME) Tri-National Programme and the Coral Triangle Initiative for Coral Reef, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) need to strongly address issues such as poaching and encroachment into our waters. Through these programmes, Malaysia needs to take the initiative to lead discussions on resolving issues on turtle poaching.

Over time, WWF-Malaysia has received reports from the local community on poaching activities and reported these to the relevant authorities, but to no avail.

WWF-Malaysia believes that the authorities should take seriously information received from the local community. Their information is credible as the water surrounding them is where they depend on for their livelihood. They are aware of what goes on and around them, especially when foreigners or outsiders encroach into their area. They have a community system where they look after each other’s welfare, including protecting their surroundings. It is also to their benefit to ensure their resources are not exploited by outsiders. These islanders are very concerned about encroachment because it can be dangerous for them.

WWF-Malaysia is also working closely with the local community in organizing training of Honorary Wildlife Wardens (HWW) so that they can be deputized in the enforcement of the Wildlife Enactment. We have also helped build support groups of HWW within selected villages or islands who take on the responsibility of monitoring and patrolling their surroundings.
In Kudat, we believe that there is a large turtle smuggling syndicate involving international and local groups that engage coastal and island communities to poach turtles in our waters. It is said that the turtles are being smuggled to China, Vietnam and other eastern countries. These poachers managed to get through the country borders by associating with various local counterparts who smuggle for them. Poaching is illegal, and poachers are criminals. The authorities should take serious and immediate actions against all poaching activities, especially those performed by organised syndicates.

Sea turtles fulfill important roles in marine ecosystems. One of the functions is to maintain the seagrass beds. Removing sea turtles from the ecosystem will have impact on the marine ecosystem. In Malaysia, all turtle populations have declined based on historical data. The Leatherbacks and Olive Ridleys have declined by more than 99% in Malaysia. In Terengganu, the Green turtles, by far the most common species in Malaysia, has declined by more than 20% and Hawksbill turtles by approximately 70%. However way we look at it, the populations for all species have not yet recovered to historical figures.

WWF-Malaysia advocates for amendments to be made to the Federal Constitution or any other means stipulated in the Constitution. The objective is allow Federal Laws to be enacted to enable the implementation of comprehensive and holistic laws governing turtles throughout Malaysia. Comprehensive means to identify all measures (scientific and legal), and management and enforcement regimes (such as development guidelines and protected area management) needed to protect turtles in a holistic way. Holistic denotes that the approach to turtles is from a conservation viewpoint which addresses every threat that impacts turtles.