More dead sea turtles off Semporna

Some fishing vessels are poaching endangered, charismatic and migratory marine species like sea turtles, dugongs, dolphins and whale sharks. The crews of these vessels are Vietnamese, Chinese or Indonesians. They are given license by the Federal Fisheries Department to do deep sea or long line fishing.

Yet another merciless killing of sea turtles has occurred, this time off Semporna. It was recorded by a staff of the Department of Fisheries who was on his way home yesterday.

He took pictures of four dead sea turtles floating between Bum Bum Island and Kulapuan island and posted it on his Facebook.

According a reliable source, the WWF-Malaysia Semporna team and the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) is investigating the case. But I am skeptical about the competency of Wildlife Department.

Meanwhile let me reveal my list of suspects.

i) Seaweed farmers. They top the list. The re-occurrence of conflict between sea turtle (known as Bokko to the islanders) and the seaweed farmers have been recorded since 1990s. The authorities are in denial about this group’s involvement. The conservation groups prefer to spread a romantic view that it’s a taboo for sea gypsies to harm these turtle. It’s also arguable the view that the Muslim islanders do not eat sea turtle meat and love sea turtle eggs.

Sea turtles are a pest to seaweed farming; they can destroy the entire seaweed farm overnight. The truth is, seaweed farmers are fed up complaining about the pest. If they can they will definitely take revenge by harming the animal.

ii) Artisanal fishermen. Sea turtles are known to forage amongst the coral reef and sea grass sections - two areas where artisanal fishing is likely to take place. Sea turtles caught in any type of fishing net will drown. When that happens, fishermen will usually dispose the carcass, cut the net, tie the turtles and drag it away from their fishing ground. Who is there to find out when most fishing activities are done from midnight until early morning?

iii) Foreign registered fishing vessels. They are taking advantage of the richness of our sea and non-existent enforcement by SWD.

Some fishing vessels are poaching endangered, charismatic and migratory marine species like sea turtles, dugongs, dolphins and whale sharks. The crews of these vessels are Vietnamese, Chinese or Indonesians. They are given license by the Federal Fisheries Department to do deep sea or long line fishing.

If they are caught encroaching into coastal areas or in possession of protected species, they too will dispose the evidence by throwing it to the sea. The local owner of this Joint-Venture will declare that they did not authorize the illegal activities. In which case what is the probability of SWD solving this case? Zero!

Poor take up

My skepticism of SWD’s ability is based on how the department has handled the case of 50 dead sea turtles in Pulau Tiga, Kudat. A week after my report appeared on social media and online news portal, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment (MTCE) made a press statement denying my report.

He said, the enforcement agencies did not received any reports from local people about the dead turtles. Later on the Permanent Secretary for MTCE invited me to a special meeting attended by the enforcement agencies.

During the meeting, the Maritime Agency admitted they knew about the sea turtle killings in Pulau Tiga months before my field visit. The Maritime officer showed us photos and announced their investigation was not conclusive (as no one got arrested).

The SWD official was not only late coming to the meeting but was also angry with me for not consulting his department before writing to the media. Furthermore, he said that his department was far way from Kudat and his office did not have a speedboat to go the island. Anyway, the next day SWD and Sabah Parks sent an investigative team to Pulau Tiga. 

There is also another reason why I believe SWD will never solve the case of dead turtles in Semporna. A the beginning of that meeting I showed slides of sea turtles kept alive inside a pen (fish cage) in Balambangan island.

I asked if any of the enforcement agencies were interested in arresting the owner. None of them showed any interest. - FMT Borneo Plus

James Alin is a wildlife activist and senior lecturer in the School of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.