stephanie lee The Star 22 May 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Researchers here have promised to use safer and better methods when tagging turtles in waters off Semporna to better protect these endangered sea creatures.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said a roundtable discussion was organised, following concerns from seasoned divers and researchers on the "lift bag method" used during the annual Mabul Sea Turtle Project.
Some claim that this method, used by certain scientists from a public university, are harmful to these marine creatures.
The "lift bag method" is used when capturing turtles to tag, where they are tied to an air-filled bag and floated to the surface.
The speed they ascend to the surface is believed to be harmful, as it could lead to decompression sickness – and even possible fatalities – in turtles.
Tuuga said there had been speculation that this was leading to the death of turtles here, but there is no evidence to these claims.
"However, the scientists involved will make appropriate changes to the method for the additional safety of turtles," he said.
He said the public university would continue with their successful collaboration with the resort in Mabul towards the public awareness, education and conservation of the sea turtles there.
Tuuga said the discussion organised by the Sabah Wildlife Department with the scientists, resort management and related non-governmental organisations was also to find a way forward for the sea turtle research project in Mabul Island.
"The Mabul sea turtle project since 2013 has recorded over one thousand turtles captured as of 2019, many of which were repeat captures from which valuable growth, health and genetic data has been obtained," he said.
"Each turtle that is caught is tagged to give it a unique identification number for long-term monitoring," he said.
Tuuga said from their findings, major anthropological threats to sea turtles in Sabah – which are especially prevalent in Mabul – were poaching, plastic pollution and boat strikes.
"We are working closely with the marine police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to apprehend and charge poachers, as well as deter others from committing these crimes," he said.
He said clean-up programmes and awareness on the dangers of discarding plastic wantonly have been conducted for school students, as well as the public.
Tuuga said sea turtles need to surface to breathe and could collide with fast-moving boats.
"It is highly recommended that boats lower their speed to 4kmh in shallow areas where turtles forage," he said.
Sea turtles are totally protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 in Sabah.
Scientists will continue Mabul turtle research, but will refine method used
Olivia Miwil New Straits Times 22 May 19;
KOTA KINABALU: Researchers involved in the alleged hazardous turtle tagging method will make the appropriate changes for the safety of the species.
Sabah Tourist, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Christina Liew said so far there was no evidence on the speculations relating to the method used to capture sea turtles for biological studies in the waters of Mabul island in Semporna.
Last week, non-governmental organisations (NGO) Semporna Professional Divers Association and Green Semporna claimed that public university researchers and associated volunteer programme had used “lift bag” to take turtles to the surface for tagging, which they said was hazardous.
Both NGOs were backed up by Borneo Marine Research Foundation executive director Dr Nicholas Pilcher who had studied turtles for 30 years, who said the method would cause decompression sickness to the species.
The department on Tuesday held a roundtable discussion here with the scientists, resort and related non-government organisations to find a way forward for the sea turtle research project in Mabul Island, Sabah.
Liew said the Mabul sea turtle project which commenced in 2013 had recorded over 1,000 turtle captures until this year, many of which were repeat captures, from which valuable growth, health and genetic data of the species had been obtained.
“Each turtle is tagged to give it a unique identification number for long-term monitoring.
“The public university will continue its successful collaboration with the resort in Mabul towards the public awareness, education and conservation of the sea turtles in Mabul,” she added.
The major anthropological threats to the sea turtles in Sabah, which are especially prevalent in Mabul, were identified due to poaching, plastic pollution and boat strikes.
As for the Wildlife department, Liew said it would work closely with marine police and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) to apprehend and charge poachers, as well as deter others from committing these crimes.
“Clean-up programmes and awareness about the dangers of discarding plastic wantonly had been conducted for school students as well as the public.
“Sea turtles need to surface to breathe, and may collide with fast-moving boats. Therefore it is highly recommended that boats lower their speed to 4km per hour in the shallow areas where turtles forage.”
Sea turtles are protected in Sabah under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.
