Pearls in Shells Houses of Local Communities

38 Environment 39 of Mabul are teeming with resorts and the stilt Atolls are topped with sand derived from the reef SHELL GAMES Pearls in shells houses of local communities. Tat leaves very few underneath them. Containing little of nutritional After the female deposits her eggs options for turtles to nest at Mabul. value, the sand supports very few plants and so, in a shallow burrow in the sand, conservation workers carefully collect Much treasured but little understood, turtles are a key factor in Approximately 50 kilometres north of not being bound in place, may travel back and them to ensure a higher percentage attracting divers and scientists alike to eastern Sabah’s waters Mabul, the islands of Pom Pom and Mataking forth across the reef top over the years. A 2012 of them make it through to hatching. have no local villages and only one or two study in Costa Rica showed that unhatched turtle resorts each. Te lack of people and lights makes eggs introduce nutrients that feed plants which Story by Kenneth Kassem Photography by Eric Madeja them preferred habitats for nesting turtles. in turn stabilise the sand. Without it the islands WWF-Malaysia and The Reef Dive Resort on themselves are at risk. So, while moving eggs to a PRACTICALITIES Mataking Island recorded 58 green turtle nests hatchery is a short-term solution for the turtles, it When to go TURTLES ARE EVERYWHERE IN SEMPORNA. threatens their habitats and even the natural who still try to steal eggs from time to time. and 16 hawksbill nests in 2010. But, despite laws may cause other problems in the long run. December-February and June-August are On nearly every boat trip to the islands around gender ratio of their hatchlings – determined by Visitors are only allowed to explore a tiny portion against egg collection, there are reports that nests Despite our growing appreciation of the rainy seasons while the best weather is this town in the Malaysian state of Sabah, a the temperature of the sand. of the island, not including the hatchery, and the are raided by hungry locals, or people who want the importance of turtles to healthy marine March-May and September-October. distinctive nose will be glimpsed snatching a Of the six species found within the Coral number of divers in the waters around it is capped to sell them on the black market within minutes ecosystems, there is much that we still don’t breath of air. Scientists surveying reefs here have Triangle – the world’s apex of marine biodiversity at 120 per day. of being laid. The resorts on the two islands know about them. Sabah Parks’ manager for How to get there to contend with turtles swimming between them that encompasses the Philippines, Indonesia, Only certain resorts in Semporna have have teamed up with WWF-Malaysia and the Sipadan, Maureen Jane, wants to know where The closest airport is Tawau, with fights and the schools of fsh they are counting, or have Malaysia, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and permits that allow them to take visitors to Sabah Wildlife Department to move the eggs to the hatchlings go when they are released: “It's a from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu on to gently nudge a resting turtle out of the way Papua New Guinea – the leatherback and Sipadan, but there are other islands close by hatcheries for safe keeping. mystery where they go. We fnd turtles that are a Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines. Direct fights while laying a measuring tape. hawksbill are critically endangered while the that offer opportunities to see turtles. Nearest to Turtles matter because they are keystone few years old, or 30 years old, but the hatchlings from Singapore also sometimes available The waters around this part of northeastern green and loggerhead are listed as endangered. Sipadan is Mabul, once a quiet anchorage for the species in their respective habitats. Green turtles just disappear,” she says. on Air Asia or Silk Air. Borneo are a global hotspot for the handful Olive ridley turtles are vulnerable and good data boat-dwelling Bajau people, now a tourism hub are one of the few animals to graze on seagrasses. We also don’t know what populations were of modern-day marine turtle species, whose is not available for the fatback. and home to 2,000 residents. The island is not Many species of fsh and invertebrates fnd shelter like historically. There is evidence from the Contacts ancestors co-existed with the dinosaurs. The Closer to Semporna than the Turtle Islands, protected, but the proliferation of resorts and the in seagrass beds as juveniles. Tey have evolved to Caribbean that current levels are a tiny fraction For more on conservation projects see: coral reefs and seagrass beds here provide and much more commonly visited, is the famous presence of tourists has stopped many of the most thrive in the well-trimmed and dense seagrasses of what they were before humans showed up Sabah Parks, www.sabahparks.org.my/eng/ ample foraging grounds for green and hawksbill dive area around Sipadan, another island favoured destructive practices that plague Semporna itself provided by healthy populations of turtles. there. So even as nesting population declines are public/default.asp turtles, and the undeveloped sandy beaches of by turtles. Formerly, the Sultan of Sulu granted – particularly the fsh bombing. Tis has allowed Without turtles, the seagrasses grow longer and reversed, the role turtles play in the ecosystem is WWF-Malaysia, www.wwf.org.my/ small islands make ideal nesting grounds. In exclusive rights to residents of nearby islands corals and fsh populations to rebound around the less dense and become poorer habitat for the still likely to be much smaller than what it once about_wwf/what_we_do/marine/sulu_ the Sulu Sea to the north of Semporna, the tiny to collect turtle eggs for human consumption island and turtles can now be spotted on almost next generation of reef dwellers. Hawksbills are was. Does this matter? We have no idea. sulawesi_marine_ecoregion_programme/ Turtle Islands, shared between the Philippines here. In the 1930s the island was declared a bird every dive. similarly critical for coral reefs by controlling sof As more tourists visit Semporna to see turtles, semporna_priority_conservation_area/ and Sabah, are host to around 10,000 green and sanctuary but the egg collection continued until According to Borneo Marine Research coral and sponge populations that can compete there will be more incentive for resorts and locals MCS-UK, www.sempornaislandsproject.com hawksbill nests every year. Sabah formally protected all turtles in 1997 and a Institute’s marine turtle expert, Dr Pushpa with hard corals for space on the reef. Without to protect them. WWF-Malaysia, Sabah Parks and But there are threats even here. While turtles hatchery was built to protect all eggs laid there. Panaliappan, the turtles of Mabul and Sipadan are hard corals, the reef loses its structure and others are working hard for the cause but they To visit and dive in the area try: here are not hunted for their meat or shells, the Today the island and hatchery are managed unusually accustomed to people and not as shy as becomes a poorer habitat for hundreds of species. need more support from local government and Mataking Island, www.mataking.com eggs are ofen poached, they drown in fshing nets by Sabah Parks who protect the nests from they are in other places. But while all structures Turtles are even important in maintaining the tourism industry. Without that support, the Borneo Divers, www.borneodivers.net or die in collisions with boats. Climate change introduced predator species, and from poachers have been removed from Sipadan, the beaches the shape and size of the islands they nest upon. turtles face a grim future. AA — November/December 2013 November/December 2013 — .

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