Turtle Watch Camp – Batu Batu, Pulau Tengah – findings and recommendations from a sea turtle conservation project in Johor, Malaysia

Turtle Watch Camp, Batu Batu Resort, Pulau Tengah, as the first sea turtle conservation project in Johor, aims to protect green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) nests from poaching, conduct conservation... [ view full abstract ]

Turtle Watch Camp, Batu Batu Resort, Pulau Tengah, as the first sea turtle conservation project in Johor, aims to protect green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) nests from poaching, conduct conservation research and educate tourists and local communities on conservation issues affecting sea turtle populations. Since 2015, our hatchery has received 20,455 eggs from 175 nests, collected from 12 islands resulting in the release of 10,766 hatchlings (1,353 green, 9,413 hawksbill). Throughout the three years of the project, numerous nests were poached from both patrolled and unpatrolled beaches and islands, suggesting that poaching of eggs in the region remains high and current legislation is inadequate. Boat strikes in the area are frequent, with 10 turtles from 2016-2017 washing up on Tengah Island alone with fatal lacerations, pointing to a high mortality rate of adults within the population. There is a lack of current research on the overall status of the turtle population within Johor. However, the high rates of adult mortality combined with egg poaching suggest that the population is likely to be in decline. Overall, this highlights the need for assessment of the efficacy of current sea turtle legislation and enforcement, combined with community-level education and engagement programs, as well as a large scale population assessment in the region to establish the current conservation status of sea turtles throughout Johor.