MTN 58:2-5 The Sustainable Sea Turtle

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The Sustainable Sea Turtle

Glen Hill
Coastal Wetlands Conservation, Wildlife Fund Thailand, 251/88-90 Phaholyothin Road,
Bahgkhen, Bangkok 10220 Thailand

Sea turtles and the small-scale fishermen of the southern Thailand province of Trang are developing a new promisingly prosperous relationship based on a mutual need for protection of the coastal ecosystem for the majority's sustainable use. The fishermen along the 60 km coast of Sikao and Kantang Districts, including 17 villages, have earnestly implemented the Natural Way Sea Turtle Conservation Project with guidance and support from Wildlife Fund Thailand and Yad Fon (Raindrop) Association, and the backing of the Provincial Office. Sea turtles inhabit the extensive seagrass beds and coral reefs, and the open sea, along the coast of Trang and lay their eggs on quiet beaches between November and January. At Paklad Beach at Ban Toongtong village, Sikao District, Mr. Meed Mahdting, fisherman and turtle conservationist, explains the current situation: "Ten years ago, maybe 6-7 sea turtles would nest here in one season, but that number has dropped much recently. Before I would collect and sell all the eggs I found, but last year we began conserving the eggs and [we] let 128 hatchlings go to the sea in order to let our children have the opportunity to see sea turtles in the future."

The sea turtle's situation and the overall condition of the coastal marine resources seem to be undeniably correlated; both are drastically deteriorating due to illegal and destructive fishing techniques and selfish, short-term attitudes. Mr. Baonur Mahdting, village Headman of Ban Toongtong village, points out, "Not too many years ago we did not have to go far to find fish and crabs that we catch to make a living. There were also many sea turtles at that time. Mechanized push seines destroy the seagrass, cyanide and bombing destroy the coral and rocks, and the large trawler boats fishing too close to shore not only sweep away all the marine life of all sizes including sea turtles, but also take our fishing equipment like squid traps and crab seines. Today both sea turtles and fish, crabs, and shrimp are becoming scarcer and scarcer."

The demise of sea turtles in Trang is attributed to:

collection of eggs to be sold and eaten,
destructive and illegal fishing methods on a small-scale level (mechanized push seines, cyanide, bombing), and
large-scale commercial fishing boats that fish too close to shore or use nets with very small mesh that indiscriminately clean out most everything in their path.

Therefore, the role of the villagers in the conservation project includes three main actions:

walk beaches looking for nests to protect, watch over these nests until hatching, then allow the hatchlings to go to the sea immediately as Nature intended,
release sea turtles immediately that are entangled in fishing gear, and
work together within the village and network with other villages to stop destructive and illegal fishing methods, such as bombing and cyanide, locally. Eventually, pressure should be put on the authorities to more strictly manage and restrict the large trawling boats also.

If successful in the three actions described above, the villagers believe that not only will sea turtles have a better chance, but so will the small-scale fishermen as a result of a rehabilitated and fertile coastal ecosystem. Raising the hatchlings has not become an issue because raising sea turtles has yet to be proven beneficial to sea turtle or human populations or to the overall coastal resource condition. Sea turtles have been raised and released for many years, yet populations continue to decline in the wild. The problem does not lie with the actual size of the sea turtle; our experience has shown us that trawling seines kill small and large turtles alike.

Between 23 November 1991 and 2 January 1992, four olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nests were discovered by Mr. Meed Mahkting and Mr. Tapa Nuansri near Ban Toongtong and Laemmakahm villages, Sikao District, and the "hatching vigil" began. On 23 January, 61 days after laying, the first nest at Paklad Beach produced 78 healthy and vigorous hatchlings which were released together by the Vice-Governor of Trang, the Provincial Fisheries Officer, and more than 100 villagers from many villages who had gathered that day for a seminar on sea turtle conservation. On 2 and 4 February, 93 and 99 hatchlings from the second and third nests, respectively, appeared to the world for the first time to the delight of the many villagers that came to watch them enter the sea. The fourth nest hatched after 53 days of incubation, producing an estimated 92 hatchlings. Coupled with this exemplary sacrifice and effort in saving >300 hatchlings, fishermen in Ban Pramuang and Ban Jaomai villages, Kantang District, have released three adult sea turtles that were accidentally caught in nets this season.

The villages of Sikao District have been steadily working towards eliminating illegal and destructive fishing methods in their area for many years with commendable success befitting both sea turtles and the majority of fishermen. The main problem remaining is that of the large trawling boats seining within 3 km of shore. Following the example of Sikao District, the villages of Kantang District have recently begun a campaign to control and eventually stop the illegal fishing in their areas also. On 5 January 1992, at Ban Batuputae on Libong Island, the villagers held a long meeting and concluded that there will be no more illegal fishing done by people from the three villages on the island. They also are coordinating with other villages for help to prevent outsiders from coming and wasting their local marine resources. Within two weeks after they stopped the mechanized push seines and the fish bombing, they reported that fish and crabs, as well as the number of sightings of dugongs, had noticeably increased.

If there were no people, could sea turtles survive? This is hardly reality, and therefore not the question. However, if turtles became extinct could the small-scale fishing villages survive? The startling truth is, most likely not - or with great difficulty, for the factors causing sea turtles to decrease are the same as those causing fish, shrimp, shellfish, and crabs to also diminish. Collecting sea turtle eggs so that there are no hatchlings is comparable to using small mesh nets collecting fish before they reach reproductive size. Letting hatchlings go to the sea is similar to using large mesh nets. If destructive fishing methods (cyanide, bombing, mechanized push seines, kilometer-long pull seines) continue to destroy seagrass beds, coral reefs, and other habitats for marine life, sea turtles and fish, shrimp, shellfish, and crabs will not survive in the long-term. If large commercial trawlers and purse-seine boats are allowed to continue their assault of the coastal marine resources, not much at all will survive.

Mr. Bao Wangbarisut, a fisherman with more than 50 years of experience from Ban Langkao on Libong Island explains simply, "I know every reef or rock formation on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand because I have worked large boats and I fish. When I see a sea turtle surface, I know that there must be a reef or rock formation in good condition at that point and, therefore, fish also. That is where I will fish." Similarly, an elderly fisherman from Ban Laemsai village once said, "My son, let Grandfather say this, if the sea has sea turtles then it has fish; if the sea has no sea turtles, then it has no fish." Sustainable fishing methods, those that do not catch juvenile marine life or squander the marine resource in one short-sighted swipe and do not destroy the ocean bottom, are allowing the small-scale fishermen and the sea turtle to sustain and improve their quality of life. The sea turtle itself is promoting sustainable fishing methods while being used as a reference to prevent unsustainable methods. Yet while the villagers have started a strong movement to improve the health of the sea and their fishing grounds through short-term sacrifices, the large commercial fishing boats continue unabated.

On the night of 2 February 1992, while 93 sea turtle hatchlings were crawling out of their nest and down to the sea to the cheers and encouragement of the villagers and friends, two medium-sized trawling boats were trawling together in the darkness only 2 km offshore. That night they swept away some of the villager's squid traps and crab nets, but it is impossible to tell how many hatchlings lived through their first night. If it had been 60 nights ago, the mother turtle may not have made it to the beach to lay her eggs in the first place. The village organizations in Sikao District have proposed prohibiting all trawling boat activities in the area during the "sea turtle season" (October-March), a proposal truly worth considering. Everyone actively involved in the Natural Way Sea Turtle Conservation Project whole-heartedly hopes and desires that sea turtles and the coastal fishing communities will lead a long, fruitful life by helping each other and by all fishermen using sustainable fishing methods to harvest the marine resources upon which both they and the turtles depend.

Epilogue: On 7 May, three months after the above article was submitted to the Marine Turtle Newsletter, Glen wrote: "All is not well. At Libong Island "outsiders" are now coming in with cyanide, bombs, trawlers, push seines ... and with force and guns. We can't keep them out and the Government agencies are ignoring our pleas. Same as in Sikao District-trawlers still coming very close to shore. In one area squid fishermen and trawlers exchanged gunfire, leaving one man dead and another injured. Now the villagers at Libong feel they are conserving the sea so others can come in and squander the resources. They are talking about going back to their old ways. Nonetheless, the value of the grassroots effort here has not been lost and we dare hope there is still some chance for a sustainable future." -Editors