Terengganu Fisheries Dept officers to go undercover to monitor turtle egg sales

Terengganu Fisheries Department Resources Protection Unit officer Hairul Effendy Adzmi (right) and fellow department officers onducting a check at Pasar Besar Kedai Payang in Kuala Terengganu.

KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu Fisheries Department will use undercover tactics to monitor the sale of all types of turtle and 'tuntung' (northern river terrapin) eggs after the ban on the sale of exotic food came into effect on Wednesday (June 1).

The department’s Resources Protection Unit officer Hairul Effendy Adzmi said the presence of enforcement officers without uniforms was vital to ensure that no traders dared to sell turtles eggs even discreetly.

"Today is the first day of the total ban on the sale of all types of turtle eggs in Terengganu. We are satisfied that no traders sold the eggs during our checks at Pasar Besar Kedai Payang.

"We will also constantly monitor eateries and online sales," he told reporters here on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, some traders, when met, admitted that they had to comply with the ban because they did not want to face the risk of legal action.

Pasar Payang and Bazar Warisan Traders’ Association president Ahmad Shukri Abdullah said all traders at the market had been informed of the ban and would comply with the directive in line with the state government's conservation efforts.

Trader Hayati Mad Zain, 54, said prior to the ban, many customers used to buy turtle eggs at her stall because there was a choice of boiled or pickled eggs priced at RM6 or RM7 each (depending on supply).

"Some say the turtles' eggs are effective as a remedy for knee and nerve pain. Now, we cannot sell them any more and this is the 'sacrifice' of traders to support the government's efforts," said the woman who has been in the business for the past 30 years.

In November last year, the Terengganu government passed the Turtle Enactment 1951 (Amendment 2021), which among others, imposes a total ban on the sale of all types of turtle eggs and provides for much heavier penalties for offences against the marine creatures.

With the move, higher fines ranging from RM50,000 to RM250,000 will be imposed for offences like disturbing and killing turtles, compared to only RM3,000 previously. - Bernama