Managing humans and turtles

Safety zone: Sebubus village head Bujang Syabrani and breeder Fredy at the turtle breeding center that was Syabrani’s brainchild.The long shoreline of Paloh, with a number of beaches and villages in the district, is a site for the hunting of turtle eggs, triggering conflicts between coastal communities.

Temajuk village head Mulyadi said conflicts between residents in his village and in Sebubus had been overcome after they came to an agreement. In the accord, villagers are not allowed to poach turtle eggs from each others’ areas, only from sites controlled by their own villages.

Mulyadi said there were more hunters in Temajuk than egg-laying turtles. “Whoever spots turtle eggs for the first time, he is the owner. But if another hunter also spots the eggs, the total should be evenly shared,” Mulyadi said.

A WWF employee, who asked not to be identified, said the WWF had no way of prohibiting locals from gathering turtle eggs. The only way was to divert turtle footprints, move their nests and watch over young turtles until they swam out to sea.

In 2009, there were 2,012 green turtle nests during the peak season between June and October compared with 1,501 in 2010. Green turtles going to the Belacan-Mutusan River numbered 4,123. Hawksbill turtles dug 41 nest holes in the same season in 2009, with only 8 nests found in 2010.

Temajuk village development chief Herry said in the 1980s, when there were no roads linking the village to Paloh, hundreds of turtles also laid their eggs in the morning. Today, they only come ashore at night and, because of their fear of motorcycle lights, their number has reduced to only about 50.

Unlike Malaysia, which has set aside Satang Island and Talang-Talang Island for egg-laying turtles — with a fine of 1,000 ringgit imposed on every egg that is stolen or sold — Sambas continues to see illegal trade in turtle eggs despite the local police chief’s statement that the regency has put a halt to such activities.

— JP/Agus Wahyuni