Using multi-disciplinary conservation strategies to recover sea turtles on Tioman Island, Malaysia

Sea turtle populations have decreased all over the world for the past 50-60 years, mainly from human causes. The Juara Turtle Project started on 2006 protecting sea turtles on Tioman Island, Malaysia. More than 1000 nests have... [ view full abstract ]

Sea turtle populations have decreased all over the world for the past 50-60 years, mainly from human causes. The Juara Turtle Project started on 2006 protecting sea turtles on Tioman Island, Malaysia. More than 1000 nests have been collected since then, and more than 80000 hatchlings have been released into the sea. The first two years, the eggs were bought directly to unknown local egg-collectors, trying to get as many eggs as possible. As a consequence, the hatching success rate (HSR) was far from the values obtained the last few years, being 56.16% in 2006 and 69.30% on average. After 2009, local egg collectors were taught and restricted to collect the eggs only around Tioman and, although the number of nests collected has decreased, the HSR has been increasing throughout the years, being 82.49% in 2017 and 81.70% on average since 2010. Thus, the number of hatchlings released into the sea has increased significantly. Specifically, the hawksbill population has improved notably, going through 2 to 5 nests between 2007 and 2009 to 20 nests in 2017. Local communities are a cornerstone for the sea turtle conservation in areas where sea turtles use to nest. Then, giving them proper handling techniques, the results can improve visibly in few years. We present on this document how the management techniques have changed to develop a successful conservation project, working together with Juara´s community. A purpose for the next few years is to involve the whole Tioman Island in the conservation of sea turtles.