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UMT educates society on horseshoe crabs in conjunction with World Horseshoe Crab Day

UMT educates society on horseshoe crabs in conjunction with World Horseshoe Crab Day

Sunday, 18/06/2023

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Horseshoe crabs are prehistoric or fossil animals that have existed sine 200 million years ago and have kept breeding till today. There are only four species in the world, which are Limulus Polyphemus (L.p) Tachypleus Tridentatus (T.t), Tachypleus Gigas (T.g), and Carcinorcorpius Rotundicauda (C.r). The L.p. species are can only be found in North America. The other three,T.t,, T.g, and C.r, can be found in Malaysia. T.g.and C.r. can be spotted in Kuala Kemaman, Terengganu.

A team of horseshoe crab researchers from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) have taken several initiatives to protect these animals that are facing extinction, and some have been carried out on a large scale involving all segments of society.

One initiative is the programme called Let’s Release Horseshoe Crab Babies held every year on 20 June in conjunction with the celebration of World Horseshoe Crab Day on the same date. The yearly observance has been set by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) whose members include Malaysia, Japan, United States of America, Indonesia, and India among others.

According to the project leader Prof. Dr. Noraznawati Ismail, the event is one of the activities for UMT Horseshoe Crab Translational Project for 2021/2022 representing the third milestone (M3 – spawning, hatching, and juvenile horseshoe crab release) and the fourth milestone (M4 – producing 10 horseshoe crab guides from among the local community for horseshoe crab CBT in Kemaman).

“We released 1,469 horseshoe crab seeds in Kemaman waters as part of the effort to ensure the species will not be extinct.

“We also aim to produce horseshoe crab guides, so we provide exposure about the animals to the community and school students.

The programme drew about 150 volunteers from different agencies including Kemaman Education Department, Terengganu Tourism Office, and Association of Terengganu Tour Guides.

As per Prof. Noraznawati, the programme also serves a tourist’s attraction. UMT and the state government are working together to introduce horseshoe crabs as one of the new products for Community-based Tourism (CBT) in Kemaman and make UMT Horseshoe Crab Hatchery in Kuala Kemaman as the seventh CBT location in Kemaman.

 

 

 

 

The hatchery for horseshoe crab conservation has been set up since 2019 under the UMT-KPT Horseshoe Transnational Project. The hatchery was in full operation on 20 June 2020.

The hatchery is the first knowledge transfer centre in the East Coast of Malaysia. More than 1,000 visitors consisting of local community and local as well as foreign tourists have come the hatchery to see and touch the horseshoe crabs and gain more knowledge about the animals.

The selection of Telaga Simpul Beach as the release location for horseshoe crab babies is due to the area being one of the natural habitats for the animals.

“Horseshoe crabs come here during the season, which is from May to October. In addition, the beach is not far from the hatchery, which makes it easier for people to visit the centre and help with the release of horseshoe crab babies at the beach.

“It is hoped this programme can provide a positive impact in the form of increased horseshoe crab population on Kemaman waters.

The surrounding communities will also benefit economically when the beach is gazzetted as a horseshoe crab breeding and conservation area and the hatchery was the state’s eco-tourism site.

 

Published by:

Corporate Communications Office

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu