JOHOR is seeing positive progress with its turtle conservation efforts, particularly the Hawksbill and Green turtle species, with around 5,000 hatchlings emerging annually thanks to better protection at nesting sites and hatcheries.
Johor Fisheries Department director Rosmawati Ghazali said the main nesting sites included Pulau Apil, Pulau Dayang, Pulau Besar and Pulau Tinggi, all off Mersing.
She said Pulau Tinggi recorded the highest number of hatchlings, attributing the success to its remote location, which minimises human disturbance and threats from predators such as monitor lizards.
She said turtle eggs that were left to hatch naturally, faced a high risk of predation.
“When turtles lay their eggs in natural nests, they face many predators and the survival rate is low.
“So, we transfer eggs found at nesting sites to hatcheries so that our personnel can monitor them closely,” she told Bernama after checking on the deployment process of “cheese block” artificial reefs off Pulau Tinggi.
She said these efforts supported by the Fisheries Conservation and Protection Division were important as studies showed that only one in every 1,000 turtle hatchlings released into the sea would reach maturity.
She added that the department was stepping up its conservation programmes, including education and awareness initiatives involving students and the local community, besides deploying artificial reefs to help preserve the marine ecosystem.
Rosmawati said turtle hatchlings faced predators on land, in the sea and from the air.
She said temperature also played a role in determining the sex of hatchlings, with warmer temperatures tending to produce more females and cooler temperatures more males.
“Sometimes we find unfertilised eggs, so we need to ensure the temperature in the area is suitable to produce male hatchlings, as one female needs four males for fertilisation.
“We have set a ratio of five males to 10 females here,” she said, adding that the site is monitored regularly, with information recorded through the Fisheries Resources Management System, MyFiRSt.
Rosmawati said there was also a hatchery on Pulau Besar but the island recorded fewer turtle landings and faced constraints such as electricity and water supplies.
So the department transfers turtle eggs found on Pulau Besar to the Pulau Tinggi hatchery that has better facilities for closer monitoring, she said.
Controlling human activity in hatchery areas is also important as they are sensitive locations where public access is discouraged, she added.
