Sabah turtle conservation: 3 landowners allow eggs collection

KOTA KINABALU: A private turtle conservation effort on an island off the east coast of Sandakan district is getting a boost with three landowners allowing the collection of the marine creatures’ eggs from their properties.

 

The conservation effort initiated by the Trekkers Lodge on Pulau Libaran would see staff collecting the turtle eggs laid within the properties of islanders Amiril Sayuti, Rashid Saburi and Mohammad Ghazali.

 

The lodge signed a memorandum of understanding with the three landowners in Sandakan on Saturday.

 

Trekkers Lodge managing director Alexander Yee said their turtle conservation programme began in 2011 under the guidance of the Sabah Wildlife Department.

 

He said that apart from egg collection for hatching purposes, the programme on the island located about 40 minutes by speedboat from Sandakan included awareness activities for islanders and visitors alike.

Another aspect of the conservation programme was an ongoing research effort to better understand the lifecycle of turtles.

 

Yee said, initially, his staff could only collect the turtle eggs within the confines of the lodge’s compound.

“Many of the islanders wanted the turtle eggs for themselves for food or to make some income,” he explained.

“However, we persisted in making the 450 islanders, many of whom are fishermen, aware about the importance of conserving the turtles,” Yee added.