Hawksbill turtle at great risk
Exco: Species may go extinct without conservation efforts
MELAKA: The critically endangered hawksbill turtle could end up as part of Melaka history by 2070 if conservation efforts are not taken seriously, warns a state executive councillor.
Melaka Agriculture, Entrepreneur Development, Agro-based and Co-operative committee chairman Norhizam Hassan Baktee said the hawksbill turtle could become completely extinct in 50 years if the number of landings at the coastline continued to show a downward trend.
“The number of landings at Pulau Upeh dropped by 30% from 36 in 2017 to only 20 last year.
“That triggered concern among global marine conservationists on the future of hawksbill turtles.
“Serious advocacy is needed to preserve the environment of the landing sites in Pulau Upeh and other parts of the state,” he said after a meeting with The Shore Oceanarium chief executive officer Chew Chert Fong yesterday.
The Shore Oceanarium has been actively involved in conservation efforts for hawksbill turtles and leatherback turtles before handing them over to the Turtle Conservation Centre at Padang Kemunting here.
Norhizam said the long-accepted idea of consuming turtle eggs as an aphrodisiac should also be debunked.
“There is no research that conclusively suggests that turtle eggs act as a sex stimulant.
“The fact remains that turtle eggs contain unsafe levels of heavy metals,” he said.
Norhizam added that the Melaka Fisheries (Turtles and Turtle Eggs) Rules 1989, which protects the eggs, could not be fully enforced due to the lack of volunteers needed to patrol the nesting sites.
He also said the Melaka Fisheries Department recorded that 544,930 eggs were laid between 2009 and 2018 at various nesting sites in the state, but some 500,000 had vanished.
Norhizam said apart from Pulau Upeh, the other nesting sites were Padang Kemunting, Balik Batu, Terendak Camp, Tanjung Bidara, Pasir Gembur, Teluk Belanga, Tanjung Serai, Kuala Linggi, Meriam Patah and Tanjung Dahan.
“Besides the large marine reclamation works, the species faces other threats such as floating fish- ing tackles, climate change, beach erosion and plastic pollution.
“Reclamation works close to Pulau Upeh, which started in the 1970s, is the main factor for the decline in the hawksbill turtle population, as confirmed by marine biologists.
“The entire global population of hawksbill turtles is estimated to have decreased by 80% in the last decade and in Melaka, it may no longer exist if the state has no serious conservation programmes,” he said.