“SPLASH!”
Within moments I was submerged under water. White bubbles follow me as I descended to lower depths. I check my depth gauge the arrow pointed to 15 meters.
I took in a few more breaths using my regulator. The sound of my breathing, the calm blue and turquoise waters gave me a sense of peace. However I was mesmerized upon seeing the colourful corals and all sorts of fishes swimming around me. It is almost like visiting another planet altogether. I got a bit distracted by the beauty of Mabul seabed.
I kicked my fins harder trying to catch up with the group ahead of me. One diver held on to a rope while another had a lifting bag. Their aim is to catch turtles.
After swimming a few meters from where the boat first dropped us off, I spotted the most regal looking creature. A green turtle is resting near the coral.
The turtle catchers slowly swam closer behind it and roped the turtles on its shoulders. The turtle struggled a little trying to free away from the ropes. The rope is then hooked to the lifting bag and within seconds the turtle ascended up to surface where the boat crew will then carry it on board.
Meanwhile the rest of the group continued diving to find more turtles.
While on the boat, researcher from the Borneo Marine Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Dr Pushpa Palaniappan is measuring the size of the turtles caught. Measurements of the length, width of its body and the size of its head were recorded.
While waiting for the whole procedure to completed for one turtle, another 4-5 turtles were waiting for their turn. Wet dark towels were placed over their head to calm them down and water constantly splashed on their hard shells and body to keep them hydrated.
One of the volunteers on the boat, Harry whom I gave the title “Turtle Whisperer” for being able to calm the turtles down, simply by massaging its neck.
“Well if it works for cats, dogs and sometimes humans, why not turtles?” he said smilingly as he continue stroking the turtle’s neck while making “shhhh” sounds to calm the animal.
Whatever he was doing, it worked in helping the turtles feel more comfortable while waiting for its turn to be attended by Dr Pushpa.
After measuring and taking snapshots of the turtles, they are then tagged using metal tags from Sabah park. The whole process is like getting your ear pierced. The turtles need to be tagged on both front flippers and marked so it will not be recaptured in the same dive session.
“70 percent of turtles caught are juvenile. This means the recruitment is high and the old turtles that have died will be replaced with these younger turtles. This is a good sign.” said Dr. Pushpa as she took a breather between measuring turtles.
She single-handedly photographed and measured all the turtles herself. That’s how dedicated she is in conducting her research on turtles.
However, sadly damaged carapaces (top shells) from boat propellers were commonly observed. One turtle had a nasty injury on its back - still fresh and raw.
“In places like Mabul where they have many turtles come up nearby the reefs for food, especially during the low tide, the boatmen need to slow down and be aware of turtles.”
At the end of the day at least 10-20 turtles caught in a day. A total of 50 turtles were photographed, measured and tagged by the end of the 3 day program in collaboration with Tourism, Culture and Environmental and Uncle Chang’s Mabul Sipadan Lodge.
“The data is important to assist turtle conservation efforts. We need to know how many of turtles are there. Also the data can be used for management of the area.” she added.
In conjunction with World Turtle Day 2013 on 23 April, public including tourists and school children get a chance to observe how Dr Pushpa and her team catch, photograph, measure and tag the turtles.
“It’s a great way to create awareness among public the importance of conserving these creatures.” said Dr Pushpa.
Kids from KidsScuba were also involved as volunteer divers to participate in the program. But what made this project even more special was when Hollywood celebrity, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh also held a helping hand during one of the turtle tagging session. The elegant superstar was on a holiday trip with her family in Mabul when she heard about the turtle program and decided to help out.
The project is a follow up by Dr Pushpa’s team on resident sea turtle population in Sipadan and Mabul islands, which receive funding under the Sciencefund scheme by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).
About 700 green turtles and hawksbill turtle were tagged for the purpose of research around the areas of Mabul and Sipadan Islands since the research started in 2011.
As of now, 150 turtle have been tagged at Mabul Island and 535 at Sipadan Island which are estimated to be between eight and 20 years old.
However Dr Pushpa admits there are still insufficient data of turtles populations in Malaysia. A thorough research on turtles is important to conduct more effective conservation programs.
According to figures from WWF Malaysia the turtle populations has shown drastic decrease in numbers over the years. All four out of seven species of turtles that can be found in Malaysia are facing threats of extinction.
The leatherback turtle or Penyu Belimbing is at the brink of extinction with its population declined by more than 99% since the 1960s.
Rantau Abang, Terengganu used to be the nesting home of one of the seven largest leatherback populations in the world but you can hardly find any turtle landings anymore.
“They are threatened by various factors such as the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, sale and consumption of turtle eggs, pollution, and coastal development.” said Nadiah Rosli from WWF Malaysia.
At present, there is no national ban on the consumption of turtle eggs, with only the sale of Leatherback Turtle eggs banned in Terengganu while the eggs of other turtle species can be consumed and traded. Sale of turtle eggs have been banned in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Turtles are the icon of Terengganu, imagine if there are not action taken to protect these species, what would happen to its icon?”
Currently, jurisdiction over turtles belongs to the States and these laws vary from state to state. WWF urged the Federal government to enact better legal protection for this natural heritage through Federal laws.
““WWF-Malaysia will continue our call for holistic federal laws to protect turtles. We don't want turtles to suffer the same fate as extinct species like the Dodo. These are our natural treasures and have major significance to our ecosystem, culture and economy.”
Come 23 May is the World Sea Turtle Day. The purpose of the celebration is to bring more positive change for turtle conservation efforts.
In conjunction with World Sea Turtle Day, WWF Malaysia is also organizing a turtle run “Race Against Extinction” on the 22 June in Kuala Terengganu. For more info www.pandashop.my
Sea turtles are highly migratory marine reptiles that are believed to have existed since the Triassic period about 200 million years ago.
The dinosaurs went extinct but turtles withstood the test of time and lived on until today, but if nothing is done - the marine creatures could share the same fate as the dinosaurs!
As a diver, turtles are one of my personal favorite marine lives I would like to see whenever I’m diving. The experiences as you watch a turtle swim gracefully up close is absolutely surreal. I also had a moment with a giant green turtle during one of my dives. The turtle did not move when I approached it - as though we were enjoying our companionship.
However I could imagine if it could speak, it’d probably say “please help me!”
