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Population Status and Management of Sea Turtles at the Sabah Turtle Island Park Paul Basintal and Maklarin Lakim Abstract This paper presents the status of sea turtle populations and their management in Turtle Islands Park from 1980 to the present. Also discussed-are: the early turtle conservation effort, the recent turtle conservation program in Pulau Sipadan, and the socio-economic importance of turtles. The management of sea turtles in the park involve patrolling of the beac/1 and surrounding waters, hatchery management, hatchling management, and visitor management. Research activities are confined to data collection and tagging. The data collected was used as the basis for rational turtle management. Report on turtle tag recoveries come mostly from the Philippines. In 1989, the Malaysian National University, Sa bah Campus (UKMSJ established a data bank program on sea turtles in cooperation with the Sabah Parks. The program was discontinued following a change of personnel in the UKMS. Turtle nestings continued to decline unti/1987. The following year marked the reversal ofthe nesting trend. The situation, however, is too early for further comment. Finally, a joint managementeffortisnecessaryin ordertosavetheturtlepopulations in the Sulu Sea. 1. Introduction main nesting islands within the state of Sabah, these rookeries were subsequently declared For decades, sea turtles have been a source as a National Park. The park covers an area of of food and commerce in Sabah. The about 1,740 hectares and includes the coral overexploitation of this marine resource has reefs and the waters between the islands. The resulted in near-extinction. Although the establishment of these islands as a national need for turtle conservation was already rec park ensures total protection of the coral reefs ognized during the colonial days, other pri which are integral components of the island orities took precedence. Conservation activi ecosystem. ties in Sabah were minimal until 1972 when three turtle rookeries in the Sulu Sea were This paper briefly describes the early tur established as Game and Bird Sanctuaries. tle conservation efforts in Sabah, and dis cusses the population status of the green and The three rookeries, i.e., Pulau.Selingaan, hawksbill turtles and their current manage P. Bakkungaan Kechi!, and P. Gu!isaan were ment in the Turtle Islands Park, the socio acquired by the government from private economic importance of turtles, and also tur ownership at a cost of M$ 89,000.00. As the tle data obtained for the last 13 years. 139 rcl_-lllfiCtll Hl'J"'~"~s ldf§ifiMM!iDII!!!!fl' occurred onFebruary20, 1986 (deSilva, 1986), Consequently, P. Selingaan, P. Bakkungaan • T - ~- A ., noo r-.~n ~~,-~ R:rA ~~nrh•:.riP<: :oncl were later .-" Hu~inltt! turd I JII\int Teclzuic<~l Rcl'orts failed to pay the fine of M$10,000.00. During Patrol of Beach and Surrounding W4Jters. the resultant skewed sex ratios in offsprings • Transplant Record an interview with the Daily Express (March Nightly patrols are conducted by rangers on and lower hatching success rate, several fac • Hatchery Record 14, 1991), the Permanent Secretary of the Sa bah the nesting beach. The first shift starts from tors justified the continuation of hatchery • Daily Hatching Record Ministry of Tourism and Environmental De 8:00 p.m. and ends at 1:00 a.m.; the second operations. These factors include the existing • Hatching Rates or Percentages velopment said: "We know that the eggs are shift is from 1:00 a.m. to 6;00 a.m. During this environmental conditions of the islands, nest • Turtle Survey popular in Brunei, but we are not certain period, the rangers undertake excavation and superimposition and predation of natural • Yearly Summary Record whether the turtle eggs are exported to other transplantation of eggs to the hatchery, tag nests. • Rainfall and Temperature Record countries from there." This incidence indi ging nesters, releasing hatchlings, and col cates that the demand of turtle eggs is not lecting of turtle data. Hatchling Management. Hatchlings start Other information, such as mortality of restricted to local consumption. emerging from their nests between 7:30 and adult turtles, are also recorded. Trawlers are tempted to fish within the 8:00p.m. Hatchlings are counted and taken to The high demand for turtle eggs abroad park because of the rich marine life. During the beach where they allowed left to crawl Turtle Research. In 1989, a visiting profes has prompted suppliers to look for new ways daytime, the rangers patrol the territorial w a seaward. Visitors and tourists are given a sor of The Malaysian National University, of obtaining eggs. Sabah Parks officials en ters to prevent trawlers from encroaching and chance to observe the hatchlings before they Sabah Campus (UI<MS), who was affiliated c<;>untered a dead turtle at P. Selingaan with fishing within park. are released at about 10:00 p.m. Hatchlings with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, pro an incised stomach. Subsequently, observa are released at several sites to prevent predators posed the formation of a joint research pro tions on adjacent waters outside the state Since the park is located opposite the Sugut from gathering in "feeding stations." gram on sea turtle between the Sabah Parks jurisdiction revealed that foreign fishermen River,logsandothertypesofwoodarewashed and the UI<MS. The two agencies entered into trap the turtles heading for Turtle Islands ashore. The rangers periodically clear the Visitor Management. The Turtle Islands a Memorandum of Understanding on marine Park and slit their stomach to collect the eggs beach from nesting obstructions. Park, the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, turtle research. The program had the follow (Daily Express, March 13 and 14, 1991). and the Kinabatangan River where the ing objectives: Hatchery Management. The hatcheries have proboscis monkeys are found, are the main • to establish a turtle data bank that will Aside from the deliberate killing of adult been in operation since 1966. The eggs are tourist destinations in the east coast ofSabah. contain information from Turtle Islands turtles, the park also recorded an increase in gathered from natural nests and are transplanted The Park is internationally famous, with Park and from other islands and incidental mortality. In 1991, two green and into the hatcheries at a depth of about 75 em. A watching turtles nesting as a popular tourist beaches; plastic netlon mesh is firmly placed around one hawksbill turtle carcasses were found on activity. The park management has taken • to develop a standard field data form each pit to prevent the escape of the hatchlings the beaches within the park. The cause of their several measures to ensure minimal human for use on the three turtle islands and upon emergence. Plastic netlon mesh has been death was not determined. The following disturbance during nesting activities. Thus, beaches in Sabah; and used in the hatchery since the late 1990s; and year, four green and a hawksbill turtle were turtle watching is a supervised activity under the • to write computer sub-programs for about 75% of the clutches are n<;>w enclosed found dead. Four died of unknown causes, direction of park rangers and tour guides. Visitors generating various records required with this mesh type. while one died due to net-related drowning. are not allowed to approach beaching turtles, to by Sabah Parks for administrative pur 15 green turtles were found dead during the use flashlights and photograph turtles before egg pose and public information services. first seven months of 1993. Five died of A plastic netlon mesh likewise encloses the laying. In addition, only 28 tourists may stay unknown causes, eight died due to net-re hatchery, and prevents predators, e.g., iguana, overnight in the park. The data bank was successfully devel lated drowning, and two died from dynamite rats and crabs from preying upon the clutches. oped a year later. The computer sub-pro fishing. Turtle Data Collection. Data obtained from grams were written in DBase IV language situ The ex hatching success is 73.5%. the beach survey and from the hatchery are (Tajudin Mahmud et. a!, undated). Unfor Mortimer (1991a) comments that the result is recorded anuall y and kept in files. A total of tunately, the program was discontinued due 7. Sea Turtle Management Activities "quite good when compared to other hatcher 12 forms are used for this purpose, namely: to a change in personnel in the UKMS. The ,ies." However, she cautions that "it is low • New Tags former dean of the UKMS has been assigned Turtle management and conservation ac when compared to the green turtle hatching • Turtle Tag Return as head of the new Iy established University of tivities at the park include the patrol ofbeaches success in natural nests." • Turtle Tag Check Malaysia in Sarawak. and surrounding waters, hatchery manage • Reports of Foreign Tags or Tags from ment, hatchlings management, turtle tagging, While the management is aware of the Another Location The Sabah Park does not conduct any visitor management, and data collection. negative effects of hatchery operation, e.g., • Egg Record Collection other research program aside from data col- 142 143 l.)~ 2. Early Conservation Efforts · Game and· Bird Sanctuaries and were later Consequently, P. Selingaan, P. Bakkungaan occurred on February 20,1986 (de Silva, 1986), declared as a National Park. Kechi! and P.Gulisaan, being the most and the latest record was on January 4, 1988 De Silva (1982) reviewed the early turtle important turtle rookeries in Sabah, were (Basintal, 1988). The eggs were transplanted conservation policies of the state. In 1927, the chosen as turtle conservation areas and into the hatchery. The first nesting of 97 eggs colonial administrators initiated the conser 3. The Sabah Turtle Islands Park established as a National Park. Pulau failed to hatch after 62 days of incubation (de vation of hawksbills which were killed for its Sipadan remains as a Game and Bird Silva, 1986).