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“SAFE” BEACH IS THE MAIN FACTOR IN TURTLE LANDING

“SAFE” BEACH IS THE MAIN FACTOR IN TURTLE LANDING

Tuesday, 17/08/2021

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Kuala Nerus – Less human activities taking place on the beaches is one of the factors that has led to turtles starting to lay their eggs again, UMT turtle researcher said.

“Turtles who have laid their eggs will most likely land on the same beaches again after 10 to 12 days,” said Dr Mohd Uzair Rusli, Head of Sea Turtle Research Unit (SEATRU) at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). “Turtles will lay eggs on average five times during egg laying season, and they will land on the same beaches to lay eggs every two or three years.”

His comments came following a viral video of a green sea turtle that landed ashore at the Batu Burok Beach yesterday.

He said that green sea turtles are the most species that lay their eggs on the beaches in Terengganu.   

“As the country is still hit with the pandemic, less activities have taken place on the beaches, and this has created a “safe” situation for the turtles to lay their eggs, without disturbance or threats,” said Dr Mohd Uzair, who is also the head of Field Research Laboratory at UMT’s Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS).

“Turtles begin searching for the right spot to lay their eggs as early as 3 pm. This shows that if we take care of the beach areas and make them turtle friendly, it is possible that they will swim ashore along the coast that spans 244 km.”

Dr Mohd Uzair said that all parties need to work together to ensure that the threatened species will continue to land on country’s shores.

“To ensure that turtles come ashore, we need to multiply our effort in educating the society especially the coastal communities,” he said. “Collaborations with NGOs, associations, and other bodies will help the authority in turtle conservation. At the very least, they should know of things not to do so as not to disturb turtles coming ashore for egg laying.”

“Effort in disseminating information about turtles is needed, so that the public avoids any actions that become threats to turtles.”

Dr Uzair is optimistic that the number of turtles coming ashore will increase if some improvements are made along the coastal areas.

“We need to improve our beaches, such as reduce lighting that brightens the beaches,” Dr Uzair said. “Some lightings need to be removed so that they are not seen from the sea. Change to red light because turtles are not very sensitive to red light’s waves.”

Dr Uzair suggested that the relevant agency plant shrub trees along the beach, such as “merambong”, which is found suitable for turtles’ protection during egg laying.

Signboards should be put up to inform visitors about the do’s and don’ts while doing activities on the beaches.

 

Dr Uzair looks forward to collaborations with external agencies in the form of knowledge transfer programmes.

“UMT recently received an offer from C Rover Scouts in Kuala Terengganu, which is willing to work together with the Department of Fisheries to carry out scheduled surveillance,” he said. “It would be good if the local community can also take part in the effort to care for the beaches and monitor the egg laying activities.”

 

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Corporate Communication Office

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu