Protecting Sea Turtles is Not An Easy Thing

The fifth meeting on the Indian Ocean and South East Asia (IOSEA) Marine Turtle memorandum of understanding ended with member countries emphasizing the need to tighten cooperation among them.

The network is essential in promoting the use of Turtles Excluder Device (TED) and circle hook in fishing to reduce sea turtle deaths caused by conventional fishing techniques.

According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) data, some 7,700 sea turtles are trapped by fishermen's nets and hooks every year. Almost half of that number are badly injured because turtles swallow regular hooks, which have sharp ends. This kind of wound is usually fatal for the turtles.

The three-day meeting, which ended Saturday, also welcomed Yemen as a new member of IOSEA, which already has 27 member countries.

To mark the end of the annual meeting, dozens of participants gathered at Serangan beach, southern Denpasar, to release thousands of sea turtles' hatchlings into the sea.

Tarnished image

The turtle industry has long tarnished Bali's image abroad. The local government and law enforcement agents have essentially turned a blind eye to exploitation of the animal, fearing that enforcing the law might cause a backlash from the hundreds of turtle poachers and dealers.

Turtle dealers have for years justified the island's high turtle consumption rate -- sometimes reaching more than 20,000 turtles per year -- by claiming that turtle meat was traditionally part of religious rituals and traditional festivals. Bali-based NGOs, most notably the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Wallacea Bioregion, with the help of few Hindu high priests, launched campaigns refuting the argument.

Hindu religious rituals, by and large, only need 500 turtles per year. The fact is most of the turtles are slaughtered only to feed Balinese's need for turtle-based traditional delicacies, served at traditional parties.

And with growing support from local NGOs and the Hindu clerical council of Parisada, and bolstered by increasing international pressure -- including the threat of a tourist boycott -- the Bali Administration and Bali Police have no choice but to face up to the poachers.

Initial efforts have been made by WWF Wallacea Bioregion to approach local tourism industry's executives in implementing turtle-based ecotourism. Meanwhile, the people of Tanjung Benoa, a village some 30 kilometers south of here, where hundreds of turtle poachers reside, have also come up with a plan to build a turtle park and hatchery.

A recent survey by Institute for Information and Development Studies shows the turtle industry is the main source of income for at least 300 households in Tanjung Benoa alone. An earlier survey by Malang-based NGO Animal Conservation for Life (KSBK) showed that in Denpasar and Badung regencies there were 11 big slaughterhouses and 32 turtle meat vendors.

WWF Indonesia's marine affairs communication and campaign coordinator, Dewi Satriani, acknowledged that important measures had been taken by the government, but then it was not followed by continued effort.

"Even though regulations prohibiting trade on rare species have been issued, but illegal trading of sea turtle eggs is still taking place in parts of West Java and Kalimantan," she said.

"This happens in front of security officers and they turn a blind eye to such activities."