HANOI: Marine turtle populations are declining along Vietnam’s coasts, as overexploitation, pollution and climate change place increasing pressure on the species.
Turtles also hold deep cultural and spiritual significance for coastal communities across the country.
However, the number of marine turtles has plummeted worldwide, including in Việt Nam, largely due to centuries of human exploitation for food, shells for ornaments, as well as mortality caused by bycatch in the fishing industry, disruption of feeding grounds and disturbance of nesting sites, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
They also face heightened risks from marine pollution and climate change. The organisation identified five major threats: accidental and opportunistic capture by fishers; direct harvesting of nesting females and their eggs; commercial hunting of hawksbill turtles for shells in international waters; fishing gear impacts from bottom trawlers, gill nets, hookline operators and commercial crustacean and mollusc divers; and marine plastic waste pollution.
Monitoring and assessment surveys of marine debris across 11 marine protected areas and national parks in Vietnam, conducted by the IUCN and partners, revealed that plastic waste accounted for 91 per cent by quantity and 63 per cent by weight.
To tackle these challenges, a long-term programme titled Support for Community-based Marine Turtle Nesting Beach Conservation and Bycatch Reduction in Việt Nam is underway, with financial support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
MPAs and national parks are located in Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Quang Trị, Hue, Quang Ngai, Khanh Hoa, An Giang and other provinces and cities.
The programme has been designed to support and strengthen local community participation in marine biodiversity conservation.
Its objectives include promoting community-based conservation of marine turtles and their habitats, contributing to the management of marine turtle nesting sites and foraging habitats in selected coastal communes, reducing bycatch and mortality of marine turtles in fisheries and assessing the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine migratory species such as turtles and marine mammals to propose temporary marine protected areas in Vietnamese waters.
The programme also supports the implementation of the Marine Turtle Conservation Action Plan for 2016–2025, with a focus on reinforcing legislation and enforcement related to marine turtle conservation. — Vietnam News/ANN
