Turtles left defenceless

PETALING JAYA: The turtles of Terengganu are defenceless – literally.

For all of last year and up to March this year, the state Fishery Department did not carry out any enforcement operation against errant fishermen using banned nets – pukat pari – with a mesh size of 25cm and above.

The department just does not have money to fund such operations. With no money forthcoming, efforts to protect turtles in Terengganu may be in jeopardy.

It is understood that the programme, which includes enforcement against banned fishing nets and hatcheries carried out by the department, has seen its allocation slashed since January.

WWF-Malaysia senior marine conservation officer Sharifah Ruqaiyah Syed Mustafa said when asked why there was no such operation in 2015 when 59 turtle deaths were reported by the department, it told them that there was no money for oil or that the department’s boat had broken down.

However, the department did carry out one operation in April this year in the Setiu and Kuala Terengganu area, during which it seized 40 bidang. One pukat pari is known as bidang and usually measures 18m by 18m.

Most of the turtle deaths in the state are due to these nets, which are used to catch stingray but also trap turtles as the animals swim around the shore and come up to nest.

It is believed that the minimum costs for an operation can come up to over RM3,300 each time, inclusive of allowances for enforcement officers.

A source said the problem of the turtle deaths was due to the lack of enforcement, adding that he also received word that “funding for the hatchery was to stop for the time being” from June.

There are thousands of turtle eggs in hatcheries in 12 reserve areas – in Redang, Perhentian Island, Rantau Abang, Kerteh, Paka, Geliga and Kemaman – under the department, which has 44 staff, including rangers and workers.

These areas can see over 100 landings by the turtles each year. It is now feared that without money to pay the workers – who only receive the minimum wage – they may have no incentive to keep and incubate the eggs and instead, sell them in the market.

To save costs, it is understood that the employment of rangers, which is seasonal – usually only for five to 10 months during the nesting season – was postponed from March to April.

“For that reason alone, 200 nests were lost in Geliga alone,” said the source, adding that a night could see up to 28 nests in that area.

The lack of funds was confirmed by state Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Plantations and Commodities Committee chairman Nawi Mohamad in an interview with The Star.

“We did not have allocation for any enforcement operation or campaign activities last year,” he said, adding that there had been a reduction in the funds set aside for the turtle conservation activities from the state government from RM200,000 yearly to RM50,000.

“Yes, we did not have any allocation from January to May. The state government will give allocation after June,” he said, adding that the lack of funds however would not affect the hatchery programme under the department.

“The hatchery programme for the eggs continues,” he maintained.

Nawi said the state Fishery Department had held two meetings, during which it was decided that it would ask the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency to carry out enforcement against errant fishermen.