Post on 14-Mar-2021
1
ArapidassessmentonthetradeinmarineturtlesinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam
FinalReport
December2018
2
ACKNOWLEDGEMNTS TRAFFICexpressesitssinceregratitudetothefollowingforsupportingthisresearch:Indonesia
• RonaldLilley• BKSDA(NatureConservationAgency)inBali,WestJava,EastJava,Makassar• PakMadeKanta,SarahMelaniaandDodi(BaliTurtleConservationandEducationCentre,
SeranganIsland)• IWayanWiradnyanaandPakAgung(BaliSeaTurtleSociety)• HarfiandriDamanhuri(HeadoftheTurtleInforamationCentreinUniversitasBungHatta,
Padang)• PROFAUNA-Regionaloffices(Java,Kalimantan,Sulawesi)• DrMirzaDKusrini(DepartmentofForestResourcesConservation&EcotourismFacultyof
Forestry,BogorAgriculturalUniversity,WestJava)• DewiDamayanti,Bali• KhalisDwi(MarineScienceDepartmentPadjadjaranUniversity,Bandung,WestJava)• RetnoKusumaNingrum,Bali• MonikaRuwaimana• DanielaB.Cavallini• MaggieMuurmans,PulauBanyak,NorthSumatra• NurMasyithaNurdin(ConservationandBiodiversityAnalystsofBPSPLSatkerMakassar)• AndiMuhammadIshakYusma(HeadofProgramandEvaluationSectionofBPSPLSatker
Makassa• Mr.EdiandMrsMutmainah(BKSDAMakassar)
MuhammadAmin(HeadSectionof1stRegionofGAKKUM(BalaiPenegakanHukum)KLHKMakassar)
Malaysia• SEAlutions• DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia• SandakanMunicipalCouncil(In-personinterviewwasconductedwiththeCouncil’sHeadof
EnforcementUnit)• WWFMalaysia(GavinJolis)• KudatTurtleConservationSociety• UniversityMalaysiaTerengganuresearchers
VietNam
• IntelligentMedia• EducationforNature-VietNamforprovidingtheirmarketsurveyinformationforthisstudy• MinistryofAgricultureandRuralDevelopment• DirectorateofFisheries
GlennSant,LaurenLopes,RichardThomas,RosaIndenbaum,SarahFerguson,ThomasinaOldfield,ChristineHoff,CMS,arethankedforreviewingearlierdraftsofthereport.AqeelaAbdulJalilisthankedfordevelopingthegraphicsandmapsusedinthereport.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVESUMMARY..........................................................................................................5
1. OBJECTIVESOFTHESTUDY..........................................................................................9
2. BACKGROUNDANDHISTORYOFMARINETurtleTRADEINTHESOUTHEASTASIAANDTHECORALTRIANGLE..................................................................................................9
2.1 MarineturtletradeinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam.......................................................10
3. POLICYANDLEGALFRAMEWORK..............................................................................133.1 GlobalandRegionalFrameworks............................................................................................133.1.1 IndianOceanSoutheastAsianMarineTurtleMemorandumofUnderstanding(IOSEAMarine
TurtleMoU)...................................................................................................................................13
3.1.2 MemorandumofUnderstandingonASEANSeaTurtleConservationandProtection(ASEANMoU).............................................................................................................................................15
3.1.3 MemorandumofAgreementbetweentheGovernmentoftheRepublicofthePhilippinesandtheGovernmentofMalaysiaontheEstablishmentoftheTurtleIslandsHeritageProtectedArea(TIHPAMoU).................................................................................................................................15
3.1.4 CoralTriangleInitiativeonCoralReefs,FisheriesandFoodSecurity(CTI-CFF)............................16
3.2 NationalLegislation................................................................................................................173.2.1 Indonesia.......................................................................................................................................17
3.2.2 Malaysia........................................................................................................................................18
3.2.3 VietNam.......................................................................................................................................21
4. METHODS..................................................................................................................224.1 Seizureanalysis......................................................................................................................234.2 Marketsurveys.......................................................................................................................244.3 Onlinesurveys........................................................................................................................27
5. RESULTS....................................................................................................................285.1 MarineTurtleSeizures............................................................................................................285.1.1 SeizureRecordsandCommoditiesSeized....................................................................................28
5.1.2 HotspotsandRoutes.....................................................................................................................32
5.2 PhysicalMarketandOnlineSurveys.......................................................................................385.2.1 Indonesia.......................................................................................................................................38
5.2.2 Malaysia........................................................................................................................................41
5.2.3 VietNam.......................................................................................................................................42
6. DISCUSSION...............................................................................................................446.1 DomesticTradeDynamics.......................................................................................................446.1.1 Indonesia.......................................................................................................................................44
6.1.2 Malaysia........................................................................................................................................48
6.1.3 VietNam.......................................................................................................................................53
6.2 LegalInternationalTradeTransactions...................................................................................546.3 IllegalInternationalTrade.......................................................................................................57
4
6.3.1 Indonesia................................................................................................................................576.3.2 Malaysia.................................................................................................................................586.3.3 VietNam................................................................................................................................596.4 ConservationImpactandManagementofMarineTurtles......................................................606.4.1 Indonesia.......................................................................................................................................60
6.4.2 Malaysia........................................................................................................................................61
6.4.3 VietNam.......................................................................................................................................63
7 CONCLUDINGREMARKSANDRECOMMENDATIONS..................................................647.1 Recommendations..................................................................................................................65
8 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................68
AnnexI:NestingandForagingGroundsinMalaysia...........................................................72
AnnexII:SeizuredataandsummaryforSabahbetween1999and2017.............................74
AnnexIII:ListofstakeholdersconsultedinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamin2018.......76
Annex IV: Seizure data for Indonesia,Malaysia andVietNambetween January 2015 andAugust2018..............................................................................................................78
AnnexV:MarineTurtleHatcheryinformationforIndonesia2018......................................86
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Six speciesofmarine turtlesare found inSoutheastAsia. Generally,all six speciesareprotectedorregulatedbynationallawsacrosstheregion.Furthermore,allmarineturtlespecies(FamilyCheloniidaeand Dermochelys coriacea) are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade inEndangeredSpeciesofWildFaunaandFlora(CITES),whichprohibitstheinternationaltradeofmarineturtles,theirpartsandderivativesforcommercialpurposes.ThesespeciesarealsolistedonAppendicesI and II of the Convention on migratory species of wild animals, meaning that the Parties to theConvention including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam among other countries in the region havecommittedtostrictprotectionofthesespeciesandtoreducingthreatstotheirsurvivalbothnationallyandthroughinternationalcooperation.Thesecountriesarealsoamongthe35SignatoryStatestotheMemorandumofUnderstanding on the Conservation andManagement ofMarine Turtles and theirHabitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia the goal of which is to enhance internationalcooperationontheconservationofmarineturtles.Despitetheseefforts,marineturtlescontinuetobeillegally exploited for trade and consumption,which is considered to be a threat to remainingwildpopulationsalreadyatriskfromarangeofreasonsincludingcontinuedhabitatdegradation,pollutionofthemarineenvironment,by-catchanddisease.This study was undertaken to document the current scale of trade in marine turtles in Indonesia,Malaysia and Viet Nam. Legislation and protectionmeasures are varied in the three countries. InIndonesiaandVietNam,thetradeinmarineturtle,partsandproductsisgenerallyprohibited,thoughvarious gaps and conflicts in themany regulations can pose a complication to controlmeasures. InMalaysiahowever,tradeineggsislegalisedinPeninsularMalaysiathroughlicensedcollectionbytheDepartmentofFisheriesintherespectivestates,butanytradeinmarineturtles,partsandproductsisprohibitedinthestatesofSabahandSarawakonMalaysianBorneo.Allthreecountrieshoweverhavebeenpreviouslyidentifiedasplayingakeyroleintheillegaltradeofmarineturtlesthatfeedsbothadomesticaswellasaninternationalmarketdemand.A2015reportontheIllegalTakeandTradeofMarineTurtlesintheIndianOceanandSoutheastAsianRegion(IOSEA)thatwasundertakenforthe66thCITES Standing Committee meeting (SC66), reinforced conservation concerns regarding theinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtles.Thisstudybuiltonthe informationpresented inCITESdocumentforSC66,andexploredthecurrenttradedynamicsonmarineturtlesinvolvingthethreecountries.ItencompassedrapidsurveysofphysicalmarketsinselectedlocationsinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam(conductedfromJanuary–July2018),rapidsurveysofonlinemarkets(conductedfromJuly–August2018)aswellasananalysisofseizuredata from2015 toAugust2018. Key locationswerevisited ineach countryencompassingmarkets,souvenirshops,nestingbeachesandturtlehatcheries.Thestudyalsoinvolvedstakeholderengagementwithgovernments,NGOs,researchersandconservationpractitionersworkingonmarineturtlesinthesethreecountries. Itfurtherexaminesthereportedtrade(basedonCITEStradedatafrom2000-2017)and illegal trade (based on seizures,market surveys and online surveys) taking place; and excludestraditional/cultural take aswell as legal harvest or accidental killing ofmarine turtles during fishingoperations.Theanalysisof results revealed that the illegal trade inmarine turtlespersists in all three countriesalthoughthereappearstobeashiftfromopenavailabilitytomoreundergroundmarkets.OpentradeinphysicalmarketssurveyedwaslimitedparticularlyinIndonesiaandMalaysia.Despitethis,itisclearIndonesiaremainsanimportantsourceandconsumercountrysupplyingdemandforeggsandmeatas
6
well as trade in marine turtle shells (either in processed – jewellery, souvenirs, taxidermied orunprocessedforms–rawpieces).SeizuresanddiscussionswithstakeholdersinIndonesiaconfirmthatpoaching, consumption and trade is prevalent across the Indonesian archipelago including inKalimantan, Java,Bali,Sulawesi,MalukuandPapua. InMalaysia, the long-standingproblemof localdemand for turtleeggs in the statesof SabahandTerengganu remainsactive. The trade inmarineturtles,partsandproducts isstrictlyprohibited inSabah,while inTerengganu,all catchandtrade isprohibitedexcept for turtleeggs, forwhichcollectionandtrade is regulated. Italsoappears that inSabah,newandwellorganisedtrademechanismshavedeveloped—traderstypicallyroamaroundtownapproachingpotentialbuyers,covertlyusingahandsignalofthe‘OK’sign,locallyunderstoodtorefertoavailabilityofturtleeggsforsale.Further,thetradeofliveturtlesandturtlepartsappearstobeagrowingconcerninSabah,especiallytheincreasinginvolvementbylocalcommunitiestomeetforeignmarketdemands.InVietNam,localdemandformarineturtlemeatexistsandmarineturtleproductswereobservedforsalein39of436outletssurveyed.However,theopentradeinbekko(turtleshell)productshasreducedsignificantlyinVietNamcomparedtofindingsin2009.The online surveys revealed a significant shift in the trade ofmarine turtle products from physicalmarkets in Indonesia. At least 213 advertisements were recorded offering a variety of products(jewellery,turtleeggpowder,fan,spectacles,taxidermied,turtleoil,etc)overaonemonthspan. InVietNam,45advertisementswererecordedovera14hourperiodandincludedsmallpersonalitemssuch as fans, spectacles and fingerpicks made from turtle shells. In contrast, there was only oneadvertisementofabraceletmadefromturtleshellrecordedforMalaysiaoveraonemonthspan.Ananalysisofseizuredata(January2015–August2018)revealthatallthreecountriesplayanactiveroleintheinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtleproductsintheAsianregion—Chinawasreportedtobea key destination inmost cases. Given the inconsistentway seizures and enforcement actions arereportedandrecordedbythedifferentcountriesinthisstudy,itisunlikelythattheavailabledatasetisrepresentativeoftherealnumberofincidentsinvolvingmarineturtlesthathavetakenplaceduringtheresearchperiod.Duetotheinherentlycovertnatureoftheillegalwildlifetrade,itstrueextentisunlikelytobereflectedbythereportedseizuredataalone. Regardless,atotalof153seizure incidentswerefoundtohaveoccurredinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamduringthisperiod.Seizuresinvolvedwholespecimens(live,dead,taxidermied),eggs,shellandshellpiecesaswellasmeat.Ofthese,marineturtleeggs(n=84,116)werethemostabundantcommodityseized,particularlyinMalaysia.Thiswasfollowedbyseizureoflivemarineturtles(n=1,836),mostlyinMalaysia(n=1,201individuals),andturtleshellsmostlyinIndonesia(1,023pieces,739kg,and936souvenirsandjewellery).Seizuresofwholespecimensprovideanindicationoftheminimumnumberofturtlesthatweremeantforillegaltradeduringthisperiod—at least2,310turtles.Analysisover thisperiodhighlightsanumberofpatterns.VietNam ismostlyasadestinationmarketaswellastransitroute inthetraffickingofmarineturtleproductstoChina. IndonesiafunctionsmostlyasasourcecountrywithseizedshipmentsdestinedtoChina,VietNamandMalaysia. Malaysiawasbothadestinationcountry for turtleeggs from IndonesiaandthePhilippinespresumablyforlocalconsumptionandasasourceofturtleproductstoVietNam.Cursoryresearch on seizures made elsewhere, but implicated the three countries, also reveal the scale ofinternationalmarine turtle trafficking involvingChina, France and thePhilippines from2015–August2018.AnalysisofCITEStradedatarevealthatonlyasmallpercentage(2%oftotalrecords)ofinternationaltradetransaction involvedIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam. Atotalof116legaltradetransactionsinvolvedthethreecountriestookplacefrom2000-2016,fromatotalof6,200records.Notraderecords
7
involving the Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam were found for 2017. At least 18 records were ofinternational imports into Indonesia (n=4),Malaysia (n=13) and Viet Nam (n=1). These 18 recordsinvolvedmostlycarvings,reportedly importedmostlyforcommercialpurposes,aswellas liveturtlesandspecimenswhichwerereportedlyforscientificpurposes.Atotalof98recordsinvolvedtheexportofmarineturtleproductsfromthethreecountries,to11countries(Australia,CzechRepublic,France,United Kingdom, Japan, Malaysia (who imported from Viet Nam), the Netherlands, New Zealand,Portugal, Singapore, and theUnitedStates (US)). TheUS,with65 trade transactions,was themainreported importer of marine turtle products from the three countries, and generally involved thegreatest diversity ofmarine turtle products exported. The analysis of CITES trade data also raisedconcernsintermsofcompliancewithCITES.Forexample,theincidentwiththelargestquantitieswasof2,444 liveHawksbillandGreenTurtles importedbyUnitedKingdomintwoseparateshipments in2004,reportedasseizedspecimen.Asmallpercentage(11%)ofthe116traderecordswasreportedtobeforcommercialuse.ThisstudyconfirmsthatillegaltradeofmarineturtlespersistsinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietnamandidentifiesthemainsourceandtradingcountriesaswellassomeofthechallengesinitsregulationandenforcement.Limitationsofthisstudyincludetherapidnatureoftheresearch,whichpreventedamorecomprehensivequantificationof trade levels and its impact tomarine turtlepopulations. However,considering that marine turtle populations are globally in decline, the threat posed by continuedpoachingandillegaltradeincombinationwiththemultipleotherthreatstheyface,willhavesignificantadverseimpactsonremainingturtlepopulationsinSoutheastAsia,ifallowedtopersist.Therefore,thefollowingrecommendationsaremade:Recommendations:• Streamliningpolicyandlegislativeprovisions,administrativecapacitiesandimplementation
- Standardize legislative provision to close loopholes and improve conservation of turtlepopulations inMalaysia,toprevent launderingofthemarineturtleeggtrade inthecountry,betweenstatesthatprohibittradeandthosethatdonot.
- Improvedenforcementofexistinglegislationtorestricttradeofturtlesandturtleproducts- PeriodicalupdatesonNationalPlanofActions(NPOAs)inallthreecountries.- Streamline roles of the various government agencies tasked with implementing legal and
regulatorypolicies.• Monitoring,investigations,lawenforcementandimprovedgatewayprotection
- Improvedmonitoring,detectionandlawenforcementinthemarketplace,andparticularlyinmaritimeareasinvolvingfishingvesselsandseaports.ThisshouldalsoincludeDNAsamplingofseizedspecimenstodeterminespeciesinvolvedand/populationsoforigin.
- Long-termmonitoring of trade in key locations and countries (including those not assessedunderthisstudy),whichconsiderscomparisonsandtrendsovertime.
- Investigations intotheplayers involvedinthepoachingandtradeofmarineturtlesandtheirparts, including the identification of collectors, illegal harvesters,middlemen, transportationandlogisticscompaniesandtraders,whichleadstoarrestsandconvictionofthosefoundguilty
- PursuanttotheCITESNotification009thatwasissuedin20181,allCITESPartiestoprepareandsubmitanaccountofannualillegaltradereportinginanaccuratemanner.
1https://cites.org/sites/default/files/notif/E-Notif-2018-009.pdf
8
• Educationandawareness-raising- Educateandraiseawarenessamongkeyplayers(suchaslocalcommunities,fishermen,traders
andconsumers).- Awareness-raising campaign for key player,which could also serve to be a starting point in
developing more targeted research and initiatives designed to reduce consumption andchangingbehaviourinthelongterm.
• Enhancedregionalcooperation
- StrengthencoordinationandcollaborationbetweenIndonesia,Malaysia,andVietNam(aswellas thePhilippines, that isalsoan importantcountry involvedand/ implicated in themarineturtletrade).
- Promote collaboration and information sharing on the illegal international trade, such assmugglingmethodsandtradeflows.
- Identify and stem illegal trade flows from within Southeast Asia to East Asian destinationcountries and territories (mainland China, , Hong Kong SAR and Japan). These can be donethroughexistingcooperativeagreementssuchasundertheumbrellaofIOSEAMarineTurtlesMoU, ASEAN or the Coral Triangle Initiative, which can include capacity building and jointinformationsharinginitiatives.
• Sourcesitemanagementandprotection- Coastal provinces/cities where marine turtles are nesting and foraging to implement the
following practices and cross-cutting solutions including: establishing comprehensivemanagementpoliciesandregulations toprotectcoastalareasand/or islands fornestingandforaging marine turtles into annually provincial/city economic and tourism developmentalstrategy; establish no-entry and/or no-catch zones in some special areas restricting humanpresenceandactivitiestoprotectnestingandforagingfemales;developprovincialmonitoringmechanismincollaborationwithmarinepoliceandotherrelatedorganizationstocombatillegalhunting, and collection of eggs and nesting females; develop programs/projects providingsustainablyalternativelivelihoodstodiversify incomesourcesfor localcommunities;developsandprotectionprogramstoreduceimpactsofover-exploitationtotheusefulnessofsandformarineturtle’slayingeggs.
• Assessmentandmanagementofturtleattractionsites- Betterassessandmonitorcaptivefacilitiesthatmanageturtlehatcheriesandthoseusedas
touristattractionstoensurethatthesefacilitiestonotundermineconservationefforts,orfacilitatelaunderingofwildcaughtturtlesortheirpartsintotrade.
9
1. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study was undertaken pursuant to CITES Decisions 17.222 and 17.223 2 on Hawksbill Turtle(Eretmochelys imbricata) and other marine turtles (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae). Under theseDecisions, the CITES Secretariat is requested to, in collaboration with its partners Inter-AmericanConventionfortheProtectionandConservationofSeaTurtles(IAC)andtheConventiononMigratorySpecies/IndianOcean-SoutheastAsianMemorandumofUnderstanding(CMS/IOSEA),undertakeastudyonthelegalandillegalinternationaltradeinmarineturtles,interaliatoresearchitsstatus,scopeandtrends, conservation impacts and management options, and to identify areas where immediatemitigation effortsmay be needed. TheCITES Secretariat is currently implementing this study at thegloballevelandisfocusingparticularassessmenteffortsinthreeregions:theInter-Americanregion,theEastAfricanregionandtheSoutheastAsianandCoralTriangleregion.
Towardsthisend,TRAFFICwascontractedbytheCITESSecretariattoundertakeareviewtodocumentthetradeinmarineturtlesintheSoutheastAsianandCoralTriangleregion,specifically inIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam.Thesethreecountrieshavebeenidentifiedasplayingakeyroleintheillegaltradeofmarineturtlesbothtomeetlocaldemandaswellasinternationaldemand.
2. BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF MARINE TURTLE TRADE IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE CORAL TRIANGLE
Therearesevenspeciesofmarineturtlesintheworld,ofwhichsixarefoundintheSoutheastAsiaandCoralTriangleregion:LeatherbackDermochelyscoriacea,GreenCheloniamydas,LoggerheadCarettacaretta,HawksbillEretmochelys imbricata,Flat-backNatatordepressusandOliveRidleyLepidochelysolivacea.TheKemp’sRidleyLepidochelyskempiiisnativetoMexicoandtheUnitesStates.ExceptfortheFlat-backTurtle,whichonlynests inAustraliabut foragesaroundsouthern IndonesiaandPapuaNewGuinea,thesespeciesarewidelydistributedintheregion(Ezekiel,2018).SpeciesoccurringinthethreeSoutheastAsiantargetcountriesareprovidedinTable1.Table1:MarineturtlespeciesoccurringinSoutheastAsia,theirrangeandIUCNRedListstatus.
Species GreenTurtleCheloniamydas
HawksbillTurtleEretmochelysimbricata
LeatherbackTurtleDermochelyscoriacea
OliveRidleyTurtleLepidochelysolivacea
LoggerheadTurtleCarettacaretta
FlatbackTurtleNatatordepressus
IUCNstatus Endangered CriticallyEndangered
Vulnerable Vulnerable Criticallyendangered
DataDeficient
RangeStates* Indonesia,Malaysia,VietNam
Indonesia,Malaysia,VietNam
Indonesia,Malaysia,VietNam
Indonesia,Malaysia,VietNam
Indonesia,Malaysia,VietNam
Indonesia
*refersonlytocountriesconsideredunderthisassessment
Marineturtlesareknowntonestinkeylocationsthroughouttheregion.InMalaysia,primarynestingsitesarefoundinthestatesofSabahandSarawakinEastMalaysia,aswellasthestatesofTerengganuandsurroundingislands,MelakaandinsomepartsofPahangandPerakinPeninsularMalaysia;thoughtherehasbeennoreliableinformationregardingthenestingofLoggerheadTurtlesinMalaysia(TRAFFIC2https://www.cites.org/eng/dec/valid17/81876
10
SoutheastAsia,2009)(seeAnnexIfordetaileddescriptionofkeynestingsites,abundanceandtrendsinMalaysia). InIndonesia,nestingsitesaredistributedthroughoutthe17,000islandsthatmakethearchipelago(IOSEA,2008;TRAFFIC,2009;Profauna,2010;IOSEA,2014).TheTurtleIslandsregion,partoftheSuluArchipelagocomprisesofsome400islandsbetweenthesouthwesterntipofthePhilippinesandnortheastapexofSabah,MalaysiaareimportantgroundsforGreenandHawksbillTurtles(Lametal.,2012).InVietNam,majornestingbeachesarescatteredfromthenorthernborderwithChinatothesouthernborderwithCambodia,includingmostoffshoreislandgroups.ConcentratednestingareasarefoundintheGulfofTonkin,centralprovincesandtheislandsinthesoutheasternwatersandtheGulfofThailand, thoughmany are under severe pressure from human activities and some no longer exist(Hamannetal.,2003;Hamannetal.,2006).MarineturtlesaregenerallynationallyprotectedinmostSoutheastAsiancountries(seeSection3.2fordetaileddescriptionofnationallegislationpertainingtoIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam).Further,asof19813,allmarineturtlespecies(FamiliesDermochelyidaeandCheloniidae)havebeenlistedwithinAppendix Iof theConventionon InternationalTrade inEndangeredSpeciesofWildFaunaandFlora(CITES). This essentially prohibits the international trade in marine turtle parts and products forcommercialpurposes.Despitethis,illegalinternationalanddomestictradeintheirpartsandproductspersists.2.1 Marine turtle trade in Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam PaststudiesinSoutheastAsiahavedocumentedmanythreatsthathavecausedthedeclineinmarineturtlepopulations(Campbell,2002;TroëngandDrews,2004;McLellanetal.2005;SandilyanandVinoth,2013). This includestargetedandopportunisticfisheries,habitatdegradationofnestingandfeedinghabitats,pollutionofthemarineenvironment,disease,climatechangeandusebyhumans.Thisstudyfocussesonthethreatsfacedbymarineturtlepopulationsduetoexploitationfortradeintheirmeat,eggsandshells.Huntingofmarineturtlestosupplytradeandconsumptiondemandsofbothadomesticandinternationalmarket,isdeemedaseriousandpersistentthreattothelongtermsurvivalofmarineturtles(GroombridgeandLuxmoore,1989;MeylanandDonnelly,1999;Pilcher,2000;Kemfetal.,2000;vanDykeandShepherd,2004;Stiles,2009;IOSEA,2014;CITES,2016a).For centuries,marine turtleshavebeenexploited for their shells, sought-after for theproductionofartefactsandornaments(Aikin,1840;GroombridgeandLuxmoore,1989;vanDijkandShepherd,2004;KinchandBurgess,2009;Lametal.,2012).ChinaandJapanhavefeaturedprominentlyinthistrade,withHawksbillTurtleshellscovetedintheluxuryartsandcraftsmarkets,thoughthiswasalsopopularintheRepublicofKoreaandTaiwanProvinceofChina(GroombridgeandLuxmoore,1989; Lametal.2012). Japan’smarine turtle shell import from1970–1986was said to involvemore than600,000HawksbillTurtles(MillikenandTokunaga,1987). Marineturtleshells,alsoknownmorepopularlybytheJapanese term bekko, are used as ornaments and curios such as jewellery, combs, hand-held fans,buttons, spectacle frames aswell as furniture embellishments inmore elaborate cases (Limpus andMiller,1990;vanDijkandShepherd,2004).ThehardershellofHawksbillTurtlemakesitapreferredchoiceofspeciesthatistargetedforthetradeinbekko(Canin,1991;HainshwangandLeggio,2006;).AsingleaverageHawksbillTurtlereportedlyyieldsabout780gofbekko(MillikenandTokunaga,1987).3Kemp’sRidleyTurtlewastheearliesttobelistedinCITESAppendixIin1975;Green,LeatherbackandOliveRidleyTurtleswerefirstlistedinAppendixIIin1975andup-listedin1977;FlatbackTurtleswerefirstlistedinAppendixIIin1975andlateruplistedtoAppendixIin1981;HawksbillTurtlewaslistedin1977inAppendixI.By1981,allmarineturtles(CheloniidaeandDermochelyidae)wereincludedinAppendixII.
11
Asidefromthis,marineturtlesarealsoharvestedandexploitedfortheirparts,suchastheirmeatandeggs,consumedasanimportantsourceofproteinforcoastalcommunities,forreligiousandculturalreasons aswell as for traditionalmedicine purposes (TRAFFIC, 2009; TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, 2009;DethmersandBaxter,2011;IOSEA,2014;WildAid,2018;Riskas,2018).Consumptionofmeatandeggsreportedlyoccursin75%ofthecountriesintheIndianOceanandSoutheastAsiaregionwhileEastAsiancountries mainly dominate the trade in marine turtle shells (IOSEA, 2014). The South China Sea isconsideredahavenfortheillegalcaptureandtradeinmarineturtlesduetothevastnessofshippingandfishingactivities(WildAid,2018).InSoutheastAsia,exploitationofmarineturtles,theirpartsandproducts is believed to center around the Coral Triangle region of Indonesia,Malaysia, Papua NewGuinea,thePhilippines,SolomonIslandsandTimor-Leste(Figure1). From2000to2008,over9,180marineturtlederivativeswerereportedly tradedbetweenSoutheastAsiaandEastAsiaregions(Lametal.,2012).Themainregionaltraderouteforwholeturtlesandpartsor products seems to originate in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to supply the consumermarketsofEastAsia(Lametal.,2012;CITES,2016b).Since2009atleast,thepoachingofmarineturtlesatseainSouth-EastAsianwaterswasreportedtobeperpetratedbyChinesefisheriesmostly,operatingoutofHainanprovinceandVietnamesefisheries(IOSEA,2014).Thisdemandisreportedlyontherise—bothChinesedemandforturtlemeatandmedicine,andJapaneseandTaiwanesedemandfortraditionalcraftsmadeof turtlescutes (Lametal.,2012;CITES,2016b). Marineturtlepopulations in theCoralTriangleare reported tohavedeclineddramatically in recentdecades,byasmuchas90% for somepopulations(WWF,2011;IOSEA,2014).
Figure1:CoralTriangleregion
AdetailedaccountofthetradeinmarineturtlesinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamwashighlightedinareportpreparedbytheIOSEASecretariat in2014(IOSEA,2014),andmorerecentlybyRiskasetal.(2018).Theyreportedthatthedirectexploitationofmarineturtlesincludingmeat,eggsandshellswasconcentratedintheCoralTriangleRegion.BothIndonesiaandMalaysiawerehighlightedasakeysource
12
ofturtlestomeetdomesticdemandandalsowereincreasinglybeingimplicatedasasourceofsmuggledturtles to countries likeChina, JapanandVietNam. Vietnamese fisherieswerehighlightedasakeyperpetratorinthepoachingofmarineturtlesintheCoralTriangleRegionwhichwerethentradedatseatoChina.InIndonesia,marineturtlemeat,mostlyinvolvingGreenTurtlesbutalsotheHawksbillTurtle,issaidtobe consumed for religious and cultural reasons in Bali (Barr, 2001; Profauna, 2003; van Dyke andShepherd,2004;Jansen,2009;Profauna,2010;Langenheim,2017).Otherthanasasourceofprotein,there is awidely-held belief that the consumption of turtle eggs confers sexual vigour (Tiba, 2013;Widodianto,pers.comm,2018).ThetradeofseaturtlesandtheirproductsappearstobewidespreadinIndonesiawithturtleeggsandmeatstillindemandlocally.Anestimatedminimumof1,967turtlesand 29,123 turtle eggs were seized in Indonesia from 2005–2009 (TRAFFIC, unpublished). A 2008researchbyProFaunaIndonesiaestimatedthataround1,115GreenTurtleswerebeingpoachedeveryyear in southeast Sulawesi alone (IOSEA, 2008). TRAFFIC’s research in 2009 recorded active tradethroughoutBali, Java,Kalimantan,SulawesiandSumatra, involvingbothHawksbillandGreenturtles(TRAFFIC,unpublished).In2012,IndonesianauthoritieswarnedthatinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtleswasontherisenationwideduetoincreasingdemandfromEastAsiancountriessuchasChinaandJapan(IOSEA,2014).AlthoughforeignfishingfleetshaverecentlybeenbannedfromIndonesianwaters,theproblemofillegalfishing,eitherwithoutlegalpermits,orusingillegallypurchasedpermits,stillpersists.InMalaysia,theimpactsfromthetradingofmarineturtlepartsandderivativeshadbeenacknowledgedasaconservationissueandhavebeengivenwideattentioninthecountrysincethe1950s.Thisdomestictradeisdominatedbytheconsumptionofeggs(Liew,2011;Chan,2006;TRAFFICSoutheastAsia,2009;DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia,2008;MohdSallehetal.,2018;Tehetal.,2018;WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlife Department, 2018), which is legal inmost states, with the exception of Sabah andSarawak on Borneo. In the early 1960s, the management of turtle egg collection and nestingdisturbanceswasformallyestablishedtoaddressthedecliningLeatherbackTurtlenestingpopulationinRantauAbang,Terengganu(Liew,2011).However,actualstudiesontheoccurrenceandprevalenceoftrade,aswellasthetypeandcharacteristicsofthetradeitselfhavebeenquitelimited.Eggcollectionlicenseswere introducedtocurbwidespreadturtlecollectionandsubsequenttrade,with ‘buyback’4mechanismsestablishedforconservationpurposesbytheDepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia,typicallyinvolving Green andHawksbill turtles (Chan& Liew, 1996;WWF-Malaysia, 2011). The egg licensingsystemgenerally includes the following: licenses arenon-transferrable, all eggsmustbe sent to theDepartmentofFisheriesforincubation,andonlyasmallnumberofindividualsareallowedtocollectonastretchofbeachorarea(TRAFFICSoutheastAsia,2009).Since2009,twospecificstudieswereundertakentounderstandmarineturtleeggtradeinthecountryi.e.aTRAFFICstudyin2009(TRAFFICSoutheastAsia,2009)andaregionalassessmentin2014whichincludedMalaysia (IOSEA, 2014).Other studiesonlymentionmarine turtle exploitation through theharvestingandconsumptionofeggsasbeingapotentialreasonforpopulationdecline,withoutgoinginto any particular detail on the trade (Liew, 2011). In the state of Sabah, trade is prohibited, butcontinues to take place. A study byWWFMalaysia and the SabahWildlife Department found thatbetween1999–2017at least129seizure incidents involvingmarineturtleeggswererecorded inthestate—238,396eggswereseizedoverthisperiod,andthehighestseizureper-yearoccurred in20164Thebuybackschemereferstothegovernmentbuyingtheeggsbackfromcollectors,whichprovidesanincometothecollectorswhilethegovernmentmanagestheeggsinahatchery.
13
with43,826eggsseized(WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018)(AnnexII).Thestudyalsorecorded23casesfrom2004to2017involvingseizuresofwholeorpartsofturtles.InVietNam,marineturtlesareasymbolof indigenousculturalandeconomicvalues.Marineturtleshave been traded for food because of their fat (0.5-1.2%) and protein (15-20%)5 content and fordecoration(frombone,skinandshell).GreenTurtles’nestsareharvestedforeggsandHawksbillTurtleshellsareusedtomakehandicraftanddecorativeitemsincludingbekkoornamentsfromturtleshellsorstuffed(taxidermied)wholeanimals(PhamThuoc,2003;Stiles,2009;EducationforNature-VietNam,2018).Theseuseshavereportedlycontributedtothedeclineinthepopulationofmarineturtlesaswellasthenumberofnestingfemalescomingtothecountrytolayeggs(Stiles,2009).LeatherbackTurtlesareextremelyrareinVietNam,whileGreenTurtlesarecurrentlyonlyfoundinoffshoreislandsorlesspopulatedareasinVietNam(ChuandNguyen,2015).InternationaltradeinmarineturtlesinvolvingVietNam increased greatly during the1990sdrivenbydemand from Japan, SouthKorea andChina(Groombridge and Luxmoore, 1989). In more recent times, much of the domestic trade in turtleproducts is seen to be driven by foreign and national touristswith trade ofmarine turtle productsoccurringinprovinces/citiessuchasHoChiMinhCity,VungTau,NhaTrang,andHaNoi(Martin,1992;Stiles,2009).However,eventhissawaslightreductionin2008,comparedto2002afterthetradeinmarineturtleproductswasoutlawedbytheGovernmentin2002—from22,225observedproductsintrade to 5,854 products between 2002 and 2008 (Stiles, 2009). Hawksbills Turtles are particularlythreatenedbytheintensiveshelltrade,asthemostexploitedspeciesintheillegaltradeinVietNam,covetedprimarilyfortheirshell(Stiles,2009;Lametal.,2012).
3. POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Global and Regional Frameworks A number ofmajor global conventions are directly relevant to the conservation ofmarine species,includingmarineturtles.Theseincludefourlegallybindingagreements:theConventionontheTradeinEndangeredSpeciesofWildFaunaandFlora(CITES),theConventiononBiologicalDiversity(CBD),theConventiononWetlandsofInternationalImportance(RamsarConvention)andtheConventionontheConservationofMigratorySpeciesofWildAnimals(CMS).Inaddition,voluntaryagreementsprovideguidelinesandlessformalcommitmentsfortheconservationofvariousspeciesorhabitatsofmarinewildlife.AllsevenspeciesofmarineturtlearelistedinAppendixIofCITES,since1981,andallexcepttheFlat-backedTurtleonAppendicesIandIIofCMS;theFlat-backedTurtleislistedonAppendixIIonly.CITES Appendix I listing prohibits international trade in these species, except for exceptionalcircumstances,while CMS Appendix I and II listing obligates Parties to, inter alia, prohibit taking ofAppendixIspecies(exceptionalcasespossible)and2)concludeinternationalagreementswhichwouldbenefitAppendixIIspecies.Key international frameworksapplicable to the region,andparticularly Indonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamareprovidedinthefollowingsections,basedonEzekiel(2018).
3.1.1 Indian Ocean Southeast Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding (IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU)
ASEANSignatories:Cambodia,Indonesia,Malaysia,Myanmar,Philippines,Thailand,VietNam
5ChuTheCuongandBuiThiThuHien(2015),101CauhoivaTraloiveBaotonruabien,Gland,ThuySy:IUCN,Page37.
14
TheIOSEAMarineTurtleMoUwascreatedundertheauspicesofCMSandcameintoeffectin2001.Itwasamendedin2009,alongwiththeConservationandManagementPlanwhichisappendedtotheMoU. TheMoU isnot legallybinding;however, itdoeshaveaprovision that it canbeamended tobecomeabindingtreaty ifamajorityofsignatoriesagree. TheMoUappliestothe landandmarineterritoryofSignatoryStatesandisalsoapplicabletovesselsoperatingintheregionunderaSignatory’sflag.ObligationsInternationalcooperation
Signatoriesmustcooperate“closely”toconservemarineturtlesandareurgedtoratifyrelevantinternationalagreementstopromotethelegalprotectionofmarineturtles.
Createeffectivelegislation
Signatoriesshouldcreate,reviewandimplementnationallegislationtoconservemarineturtlesandharmoniselegislationbetweensignatorystates.
Nationalauthorities Signatories are required to designate (1) a national authority to coordinatecommunicationbetweensignatorystates;(2)aSecretariattocoordinateandencouragereportingandcommunicationbetweenmemberstatesandotherrelevantorganisations;and(3)anAdvisoryCommitteetoadviseonscientific,technicalandlegalmatters.
Reporting SignatoriesshouldreportregularlytotheIOSEAMarineTurtleMoUSecretariatontheirimplementationoftheMoU.
ImplementtheConservationandManagementPlan
Signatories are required, subject to resources, to implement the Conservation andManagementPlanappendedtotheMoU.Theplancomprisesalistof105activitiestobeundertaken,listedunderthefollowingsixmainobjectives:
1. Reducedirectandindirectcausesofmortalityofmarineturtles.Thisincludesactivities1.4a–dtopromotetheuseoffishinggearthatminimisesby-catchofturtles,and1.4e–ftosupporttheUNDriftnetMoratoriumandprovideproperfacilitiesfordisposaloffishinggear.Thisobjectivealsoincludesactivity1.5a–eto prohibit harvest and trade in marine turtles and their eggs, including byenactinglegislationtodoso,wherenecessary.
2. Protectandconservemarineturtlehabitats.Thisincludesactivities2.2a–btorehabilitate degraded nesting beaches, coral reefs, mangroves and seagrassbeds.
3. Increaseandshareresearchonmarineturtleecology.4. Increasepublicawarenessandparticipationinmarineturtleconservation.5. Enhancenational,regionalandinternationalcooperation. Includingactivities
5.1a–ctoimprovecompliancewithCITES,and5.1ftoimplementlegislationandimproveenforcementeffortstodeter illegaltrade. Activities5.3hand iurgeSignatoriestoencouragenon-signatorystatestobecomePartyto,respectively,CMSandglobalfisheriesagreements,includingUNFSA,andtoimplementtheFAOCodeofConduct.Activity5.5aisto“Reviewdomesticpoliciesandlawstoaddress gaps or impediments to marine turtle conservation.” Signatoriesshouldexchangeinformationonmarineturtleswithotherstates(3.4).
6. PromoteimplementationoftheMoUandConservationandManagementPlan.Includingactivities6.1atoencouragenon-signatorystatestosigntheMoUand6.1ctoconsidermakingtheMoUlegallybinding.
RelevantresolutionspassedundertheIOSEAMarineTurtleMoUThreeresolutionshavebeenpassedbytheSignatoryStatestotheIOSEAMarineTurtleMoU,allofwhichrelatetotheissueofmarineturtleby-catchandmortality:
15
• The2012ResolutiontoEstablishtheIOSEANetworkofSitesofImportanceforMarineTurtlesintheIndianOcean–South-EastAsiaRegionencouragesSignatoryStatestonominatesitesforinclusionintheIOSEANetworkofSitesofImportanceforMarineTurtlesandprovidesguidanceonhowtoevaluatepotentialsitesfornominationandcoordinategovernanceforselectedsites.
• The 2008 Resolution to Promote the Use ofMarine Turtle By-catch ReductionMeasures byIOSEASignatoryStatesurgesSignatoryStatestoadopttheFAOGuidelinestoReduceSeaTurtleMortality in Fishing Operations and encourages Signatory States, the Indian Ocean TunaCommission(IOTC)andtheWesternandCentralPacificFisheriesCommission(WCPFC)toadoptsafemarineturtlehandlingmeasuresforlonglinefisheries.
• The2005Resolution3.1UrgingtheIndianOceanTunaCommissionanditsMemberStatestoAddressMarineTurtleBy-CatchIssueswithintheIOSEARegioncontributedtotheIOTCpassingits 2005 Recommendation on Sea Turtles and 2009 Resolution on Sea Turtles, which weresupersededin2012bytheResolutionontheConservationofMarineTurtles(discussedbelowunderRegionalfisheriesagreements).
• In addition, the 8th Meeting of Signatories to the IOSEA Marine Turtle MOU convened toestablishaworkinggrouptoaddressissuesrelatedtoturtletrade.
3.1.2 Memorandum of Understanding on ASEAN Sea Turtle Conservation and Protection (ASEAN MoU)
ASEAN Contracting Parties: Brunei, Indonesia, Lao PDR,Malaysia,Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,Thailand,VietNamTheASEANMoUisaconciseagreementsignedin1997byallASEANcountriesexceptCambodia.Theagreement was one of the first multilateral agreements focused specifically on marine turtleconservation.However,theMoUisextremelybroadandasksverylittleofitssignatories.OtherthandesignatingMalaysiaasthecoordinatorforimplementingtheMoU(Art.V)andrequiringeachPartytodesignateanagencytocoordinatewithMalaysia(Art.VI)andatleastoneexperttoformaTechnicalExpertWorkingGroup(Art.V),theMoUdoesnotrequirespecificactionsfromitsContractingParties.However, it does ask Parties to consider enacting new laws on marine turtle conservation andharmonisingexistingnationallaws,andtocoordinatewiththeSoutheastAsianFisheriesDevelopmentCentre(SEAFDEC)increatingaseaturtleprotectionprogram(Art.IV).
3.1.3 Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Malaysia on the Establishment of the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA MoU)
ASEANParties:Malaysia,PhilippinesTheTurtleIslandsHeritageProtectedArea(TIHPA)MoUconcernsthejointmanagementandprotectionoftheonlyremainingmajorGreenTurtlenestinghabitatsandpopulationinSoutheastAsia,whichalsoprovidenestingsitesforHawksbillTurtles.ThisbilateralMoUcoverssixislandsinthePhilippinesandthree in Malaysia, located along the international treaty limits separating the two countries. TheagreementwasformalisedbytheGovernmentsofthePhilippinesandMalaysia in1996. Thearea issubject toeachcountry’s lawswithintheapplicable jurisdictionand jointlymanagedasaGreenandHawksbillturtlesanctuary.Asamarinesanctuary,eachcountry’spunishmentsforwildlifecrimeswithin
16
nationalprotectedareasapply.Inaddition,theagreementprovidesforprotectionofsandandcoralwithinthearea.ObligationsConservationandmanagement
Partiesarerequiredtoimplementajointmarineturtleresourcemanagementprogramand an integrated conservation and research programme that aims for the wisemanagementoftheProtectedArea(Art.II).AnnexAtotheMoUlistsnineactionstobe taken to conserve andmanage turtles, including protecting nesting habitat andprohibitingsandandcoralexcavationandtheuseoffishinggearthatdisturbsorharmsturtlesinthearea.
Otherobligations Parties are required to establish an Implementing Agency (Art. IV), a centralisedinformationnetworkonmarineturtles,includingadatabasethatcollectsinformationdescribedinAnnexAoftheMoU,andeco-tourismandawarenessprograms(Art.II).
3.1.4 CoralTriangleInitiativeonCoralReefs,FisheriesandFoodSecurity(CTI-CFF)ASEANSignatories:Indonesia,Malaysia,PhilippinesThe CTI-CFF is amultilateral partnership between Indonesia,Malaysia, the Philippines and the non-ASEANpartnersPapuaNewGuinea,TimorLesteandtheSolomonIslands.Anon-bindingdeclaration,theCoralTriangleInitiativeLeaders’DeclarationonCoralReefs,FisheriesandFoodSecurity,wassignedbythesecountriesin2009,committingthemtoimplementa10-yearRegionalPlanofActionasarallyingpointforcollectiveandparallelactionatavarietyoflevels.TheRegionalPlanofActionstatesthatitwill target all six speciesof turtles found in theCoral Triangle, aswell as corals, seagrass andotherspeciesassessedasthreatenedontheIUCNRedList.ObligationsThe Declaration does not provide any specific obligations; however, the Plan of Action includes 38regionalactionsunderfivegoals.Theseare:
1. Managepriorityseascapes.Includingdesignatingandeffectivelymanagingtheseseascapes.2. Developanecosystemapproachtomanagingmarineresources.Includingimplementingstrong
legislative, policy and regulatory frameworks for an ecosystem approach, including throughinternational collaboration. Thisgoal specificallymentions implementing theFAO IPOA-IUU.Underthisgoalarealsotargetsofachievingamoresustainabletradeinreeffishandestablishinga forum on managing and trading internationally in reef-based organisms. It is alsorecommendedtointegratetheprecautionaryapproachintolegislationandtakemeasurestoreducedestructivefishingpractices,includinguseofcyanideandblastfishing.
3. Conserve andmanagemarine areas. Including identifying priority seascapes, establishing amodelforsustainablemanagementofseascapesandsecuringfunding.PartiesareencouragedtoestablishandmanageMPAs.
4. Adapttoclimatechange.5. Improve the status of threatened species. The Plan of Action urges Parties to create and
implement regional Plan for sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals, targeted reef fish andthreatenedinvertebrates.Specifictargetsforeachofthesearelisted,includingmonitoringandenforcementofregulationsregardinginternationaltradeandreductionofby-catch.Partiesareencouraged to adopt and strengthen local and national legislative, policy and regulatory
17
frameworks and regional and international agreements on threatened species. ThePlan ofActionindicatesthatthesemeasuresshouldincludesharinginformationsuchasdraftandfinalversionsofnationallawstoenableregionalharmonisationoflegalandpolicyframeworksandenforcing laws and regulations to combat IUU fishing and trafficking of threatened marinespecies.
3.2 National Legislation ThefollowingsectionsarebasedlargelyonareviewofkeymarineprotectionrelatedlegislationsintheASEANcountriesthatwasledbyTRAFFIC(Ezekiel,2018).
3.2.1 Indonesia Indonesiagenerallyhasagoodwildlifeprotection legislative framework,however someweaknessesexist,suchasthelackofaunifiedlistofprotectedspeciesthatcoversallCITES-andCMS-listedspeciesandalackofprohibitionsonsomeharmfulactivities.Thisincludesthelackofprovisiontoregulateandtake action on non-native CITES listed species. The most important pieces of legislation for theconservationandmanagementofmarinewildlifeinIndonesiaaretheConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsActNo.5(1990),theLawontheManagementofCoastalAreasandIsles(2007)andtheFisheryLaw(2004,amended2009).ThreeGovernmentRegulationsrelatetotheconservationofmarinewildlife:No.60/2007ontheConservationofFisheryResources,No.7/1999onPreservingFloraand Fauna Species, and No. 8/1999 on Wild Flora and Fauna Exploitation. All marine turtles areconsideredaprotectedspeciesundertheGovernmentRegulationNo.7/1999onPreservingFloraandFauna Species. Any catch, trade, import, export, possession and transfer of protected species isprohibitedunderActNo.5.Anyoneviolatingthislawmaybeliable,uponconviction,toafineofuptoIDR100,000(USD10,000)andimprisonmentofuptofiveyears. Severalotherlawsproviderelevantmeasures,includingtheLawontheSea(2014),whichmakestheIndonesian government responsible formanaging themarineenvironment, theCustoms Law (1995,amended 2006), and the Penal Code (1915), which includes measures to protect animals frommistreatment.Inaddition,alargenumberofMinisterialRegulationsprovidedetailedmeasuresforthemanagement and control of activities relating to marine wildlife. Strengths and weaknesses ofIndonesia’slegislationwithregardtomarinewildlifeprotectionaresummarisedinTable2.Table2:SummaryofstrengthsandweaknessesinIndonesia’smarineturtlelegislation
Strengths Weaknesses• Detailedlistofprohibitedactivities,including
catching,killing,possessing,transportingortradingprotectedspecieswithoutalicenceandimportingandexportingwildlifewithoutapermit.
• Prohibitionoffishingwithexplosives,poisonsorothermaterialsthatdestroycoralreefs,fishresourcesortheenvironment.Possessionofequipmentforthesetypesoffishingprohibited.
• Requirementtoreleasemarinewildlifethathasbeencapturedaccidentallyaliveandreportifdead.
• ConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsActandFisheryLawaregeneral.Whereimplementingregulationsprovidedbyministries,someprovincesmaynotrecognisejurisdiction(Lotolungetal.2005).
• Permittedtocatch,kill,transportortradeprotectedanimalsforresearch,educationorsafeguardingoftheanimalsunderConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsAct
• GovernmentRegulationNo.7(1999)allowsConservationInstitutions,includingzoosandanimalparks,totakewildlifethatisnot
18
• MinisterofMarineAffairsandFisheriesrequiredtospecifyclosedseasonsandareas.
• Permitsandlicencesrequiredfornaturalresourceexploitation,includingforfishingoutsideIndonesianwaters.
• Detailedrequirementsforvesselregistrationandlogbooks.
• Confiscatedspecimensandwildlifefoundinahumanenvironmentmustbereturnedtotheirnaturalenvironmentwherepossible,andconfiscatedwildlifehousedinadequatefacilities.
• Anoffencetodeliberatelyharmananimal,causeitpainortransportitinaneedlesslypainfulmanner.
• StrongpenaltiesforsomeoffencesunderFisheryLaw,LawontheManagementofCoastalAreasandIslesandConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsAct.
• SpecificationofmaximumandminimumsentencesforsomeoffencesunderCustomsLawandLawontheManagementofCoastalAreasandIsles.
• IncreasedpenaltiesforcommittingoffencesdeliberatelyunderConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsActandLawontheManagementofCoastalAreasandIsles.
• FisheryLawprovideshigherpenaltiesforsomeoffencesforownersandoperatorsoffishingvessels,managersofcorporations,andlargerfishingoperations.
• PenaltiesforsomeoffencesunderFisheryLawandCustomsLawareincreasedbyonethirdifanofficialisinvolved.
• IncentivesforinformationandarrestsunderFisheryLawandforcustomsagentswhohavesettledviolationsunderCustomsLaw.
• Clearindicationofresponsibilitiesforimplementation.
protectedfromnatureanddoesnotprovideconditionsforobtainingwildlifeinthisway.
• FisheryLawallowsfishingwithexplosivesandotherdamagingmethodsforresearch.MinistryofFisheriesDecreesspecifyingprotectedspeciesprovideexceptionsforresearch.
• ProtectionforwildlifepartsandproductsomittedfromGovernmentRegulationNo.8/1999onWildFloraandFaunaExploitation.
• Noprohibitiononpossessionofspeciesobtainedusingdestructivefishingequipmentortechniques.
• RegulationoftheMinisterofForestryNo.447(2003)allowscollectionofwildlife,includingprotectedandCITES-listedspecies,fromnatureaslongasnotinprotectedareas.
• NorequirementsforTEDsorminimummeshsizes.
• UnderRegulationoftheMinisterofMarineAffairsandFisheriesNo.04(2010),CITESAppendix-Ispeciesmaybetradedifbredincaptivityandofatleastthesecondgeneration,orofthefirstgenerationiftheybelongtoaspeciesallowedbytheMinister.Couldenablelaunderingofwild-caughtspecimens.
• PenaltiesformistreatinganimalsintradelowunderPenalCode.
• Someregulationsimposeonlyadministrativesanctionsand/ordonotspecifysanctions.
• NoprovisionstoapplypenaltiestocorporationsormanagersunderConservationofLivingResourcesandtheirEcosystemsAct,GovernmentRegulationNo.8(1999),LawontheSeaandLawonCoastalAreasandSmallIsles.
• Nopenalisationofaccomplices.• Provinciallegislationregardingmarinewildlife
protectionmaynotbeharmonisedacrossthecountryorwithMinisterialRegulations.
• NosinglelistofprotectedspeciesthatcoversallCITES-andCMS-listedspecies.
3.2.2 Malaysia Malaysiacomprises13statesandthreefederalterritories,andlegislationtoprotectmarinewildlifeinMalaysiaconsistsofamixtureoffederalandstatelaw.AsperArticle75oftheConstitutionofMalaysia,where there is a conflict between federal and state legislation, federal law prevails. In general,management of turtles falls under the jurisdiction of each individual state for areas within theirterritorialwaters(upto3nmofthelowwatermark).Inlightofthisprovision,managementofturtleswhich falls under thepurviewof the federal government as included in the FisheriesAct 1985onlyappliesinlieuofanystateenactmentspertainingtoturtlemanagement.
19
InPeninsularMalaysia,allstateshavemarineturtlerelatedlegislationsexceptforPerlisandSelangor.ThelegislationsinotherstatesviastateenactmentsorundertheenablingsectionoftheFisheriesAct1985mainlyprescribestheproceduresandfeesforthepurposesofsecuringlicensestocollecteggs,and operating turtlewatching areas. There are also penalties prescribed for offences involving thepossessionorkillingofturtles. ThereisnouniformityandinmostofPeninsularMalaysia,allmarineturtleeggs(exceptleatherbackeggsinTerengganuandPahang)arefreelyandlegallytradedinthelocalmarkets, except in Perak and Melaka. The states of Sabah and Sarawak have their own wildlifeprotectionlegislation(theWildlifeConservationEnactment(1997)andtheWildlifeProtectionOrdinance(1998)),whichlistmarineturtlesastotallyprotectedanimals.Bothstatesbanalltradeandconsumptionofmarineturtlesortheirpartsorproducts.FederallegislationgovernstheimportandexportofwildlifethroughMalaysia’smainCITES-implementinglegislation,theInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesAct(2008),andtheCustomsAct(1967).Malaysia’swildlifeprotectionlegislationisgenerallycomprehensiveandprovidesasolidframeworktoprotectmarinewildlife.Ontheotherhand,manyofthemeasurestoprotectwildlifewithinMalaysiadonotapplytomarinespecies,andthemixtureoffederalandstatelegislationtoprotectwildlifecancreategaps, inconsistenciesandoverlap.Forexample,whilethestatesofSabahandSarawakaffordprotectiontomarineturtlesandbantrade,thesameisnotapplicableinthePeninsularMalaysianstates:
- Fivestates(Melaka,Penang,Johor,NegeriSembilanandKelantan)haveenactedRulespursuanttotheFisheriesAct1985.
- TerengganuTurtleEnactment1951(amended1987)useslocalMalaynamestodescribemarineturtles(nodefinitionatspecieslevel).Itprohibitsthekillingandtakingofturtlesbutregulatesthecollectionofturtleeggsviaalicensingprotocol.
- Melaka Fisheries (Turtles and Turtle Eggs) Rules 1989and thePenang Fisheries (Turtles andTurtleEggs)Rules1999whichlistsallfourturtlespeciesinMalaysiaandprovidesforalicensedeggcollectionsystem.
- Johor Fisheries (TurtlesandTurtleEggs)Rules1984, theNegeri Sembilan (TurtlesandTurtleEggs) Rules 1976and theKelantan (Turtles and Turtle Eggs) Rules 1978, all mention theorderChelonia,togetherwithlocalnames,andallowforthelicensingofeggcollection.
Strengths and weaknesses of Malaysia’s legislation with regard to marine wildlife protection aresummarisedinTable3.Table3:SummaryofstrengthsandweaknessesinMalaysia’smarineturtlelegislation
Strengths Weaknesses• ProtectedstatusforallCITES-listedspecies.• Coverageforpartsandproducts.• Detailedlistofprohibitedactivities,including
importandexportofprotectedspecieswithoutalicence,possessionoffishobtainedillegally,andfishingandotheractivitieswithinmarineparks.
• Prohibitionoffishingwithelectricity,explosivesandpoisons.
• Requirementforliveaquaticmammals,turtles,WhaleSharkandsomespeciesofclamthathavebeencaughtaccidentallytobereleasedanddeadspecimensreported.
• NationalParksActlacksdetail,includingoffencesandpenalties.
• FisheriesActlacksdetailedrequirementsonpermittedequipment,by-catchmitigation,prohibitedareas,closedseasonsandotherissuesforprotectingmarinewildlife.
• MinisterordirectorresponsibleforimplementationofInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesAct,FisheriesAct,andSabah’sWildlifeConservationEnactmentmayexemptanyoneoranyspeciesfromanyorallprovisions.
20
• Prohibitedfishinginmarineparks.• PermitsandCITESdocumentationrequiredfor
importandexportofscheduledspecies.CustomsActrequirespermitsforimportandexportofallanimalsandproducts.
• Fishinglicencesrequiredbylocalandforeignvessels.LicencesrequiredforhuntinginSabahandSarawak,collectionofturtlesandeggsinKedahandTerengganu.
• Requirementforregistryoffishinglicencesandpermitsandtorecordcatchdataifintendedforexport.
• ManagementAuthoritymay(butnotrequiredto)orderconfiscatedspecimenstobereturnedtotheirhomecountries.
• Regulationsprovidestandardsforrescuecentres.
• Potentialtoprohibitmistreatmentofwildlife.• Strongpenaltiesforseriousoffencesunder
InternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesActandinSabah.
• SpecificationofmaximumandminimumsentencesforsomeoffencesunderCustomsActandSabah’sWildlifeConservationEnactment.
• PenaltiesdoubledforrepeatoffencesunderSabah’sWildlifeConservationEnactmentandParksEnactmentandSarawak’sWildlifeProtectionOrdinance.UnderWildlifeConservationEnactment,useofafirearmandmorethantwoaccomplicesinanoffenceresultsindoubledpenalties.
• Penalisationofaccomplicesundermostlegislation.
• Managersofcorporationsresponsibleforoffencescommittedbycorporationsundermostlegislation.Foroffencesinvolvingforeignvessels,higherfinesformasterandowner,whoareliableforoffencesbycrew,underFisheriesAct.
• LowburdenofproofforsomeoffencesunderFisheriesAct,CustomsAct,Sabah’sWildlifeConservationEnactment,Sarawak’sWildlifeProtectionOrdinance,Kedah’sTurtlesEnactmentandTerengganu’sTurtlesEnactment.
• RewardsforinformationleadingtoarrestsandseizuresunderInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesAct,CustomsActandSarawak’sWildlifeProtectionOrdinance.
• ACITESManagementAuthoritymayreturnspecimens,equipmentandevidenceseizedunderInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpecieswithoutspecifyingconditions.
• MarinespeciesnotcoveredbyWildlifeConservationAct(2010).
• FisheriesActdoesnotcoverturtles,andmanystateslackmeasurestoprotectturtles.
• Noprohibitiononindiscriminatefishingmethodssuchastypesoftrawlingoruseofsmallmeshnets.
• NorequirementforTEDs.• Norequirementforseizedwildlifetobe
housedinarescuecentre,repatriated,orreleasedintothewild.
• NorequirementforlicencestofishoutsideEEZorcooperatewithinternationallawsorlawsofotherstates.
• Mandatorycollectionoffisheriesdataonlyforcrewnationality.
• LowpenaltiesforsomeoffencesunderFisheriesAct;Sarawak’sWildlifeProtectionOrdinance,NationalParksandNatureReservesOrdinance,andBiodiversityOrdinance;ParksCorporationEnactmentsinpeninsularstates;Kedah’sandTerengganu’sTurtleEnactments.
• MaximumfinesforviolationsunderInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesActinvolvingindividualspecimensarehigh,butmaximumtotalfineonly10timesthisamount.
• FixedpenaltiesunderSarawak’sWildlifeProtectionOrdinance.
• Mostlegislationallowssomeoffencestobecompoundedbylowfines.AnimalWelfareActdoesnotspecifyamountofadministrativefines.
• Potentialforgaps,inconsistenciesandoverlapcreatedbyomissionofmarinewildlifefromWildlifeProtectionAct(2010)anddivisionofresponsibilityformarinewildlifeandfisheriesbetweenfederalandstategovernments.
• InternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesAct,FisheriesAct,andParksEnactmentsofJohor,PerakandSelangorallowofficialstoreturnseizeditemsifundefined“sufficientsecurity”provided.
21
• Alllegislationstateswhichministry,departmentorotherbodyisinchargeofimplementation.
3.2.3 Viet Nam Themost important laws formarinewildlife protection in Viet Nam are the Law on EnvironmentalProtection(2014),theBiodiversityLaw(2008),theLawonMarineandIslandResourcesandEnvironment(2015),theFisheriesLaw(2003)andtheLawonCustoms(2014).Theseprovidethegeneralframeworkformarinewildlifeprotection.TheVietnamMaritimeCode(2015)andtheLawontheVietnameseSea(2012)alsoincludemeasuresrelevanttomarinewildlifeprotection.TheselawsareimplementedbynumerousregulationsissuedbytheGovernment,PrimeMinisterandministries.Penaltiesforcrimesand administrative violations are provided separately in Penal Code No. 100/2015/QH13 and Law12/2017/QH14,knownastheAmendedPenalCode.Fourspeciesofmarineturtles(GreenTurtle,HawksbillTurtle,LoggerheadTurtleandOliveRidley)werefirstprotectedinVietNamin2002byDecree48/2002/ND-CPbutwerelaterremovedfromthislistofprotected species when Decree 48 was replaced by Decree 32/2006/ND-CP. However, prior to theimplementation of Decree 32, the domestic exploitation of five species of marine turtles becameprohibited inVietNambywayofDecree59/2005/ND-CP (theoriginal fourspeciesplusLeatherbackTurtles). AlthoughDecree59has been amended twice, first byDecree 14/2009/ND-CP and thenbyDecree53/2012/ND-CP,therelevantsectioncoveringexploitationofmarineresourcesstillstandstoday.Decree59prohibitsharvestinganyspeciesconsideredtobe“threatenedbyextinction”bytheMinistryofFisheries.In2007,theMinistryofFisheriesandMinistryofAgriculturewerecombinedintoMinistryofAgricultureandRuralDevelopment(MARD).Thelistofspecies“threatenedwithextinction”asissuedbyMARDcanbefoundinDecision82/2008/QD-BNNandincludesthefollowingfivespeciesofmarineturtles:HawksbillTurtle,GreenTurtle,OliveRidleyTurtle,LoggerheadTurtleandLeatherbackTurtle.Decree59isalsosupplementedbyguidingdocumentCircular02/2006/TT-BTSwhichlistsfourspeciesofmarine turtle that are “prohibited fromexploitation”:Hawksbill Turtle,GreenTurtle,OliveRidleyTurtle,andLeatherbackTurtle.AlthoughCircular02wasamendedinpartbyCircular62/2008/TT-BNN,thelistofmarineturtlesremainsthesame.Thus,bywayofDecree59anditsrelatedandincorporateddocuments,thesefivespeciesofmarineturtleareprohibitedfromdomesticexploitationinVietNam.However, Decree 160/2013/ND-CP provides exceptions to this rule, but only for research and/orconservationpurposes.Decree160allowsexploiting,trading,buying,selling,gifting,renting,keeping,ranching,transporting,exporting,andimportingmarineturtlesforresearchorconservationpurposeswithproperpermit(s).Theinternationaltradeinmarineturtlesto/fromVietNamisregulatedbyDecree82/2006/ND-CP,VietNam’s CITES implementing legislation. Viet Nam’s legal system is confusing to navigate, with aproliferationof lawsand implementing regulationsatdifferent levels,butasawhole the legislationprohibitsandpenalisesactivitiesharmfultomarinewildlife,controlsmarineresourceexploitation,andprovidesasolidframeworktoprotectmarinewildlifeintrade.StrengthsandweaknessesofVietNam’slegislationwithregardtomarinewildlifeprotectionaresummarisedinTable4.Table4:SummaryofstrengthsandweaknessesinVietNam’smarineturtlelegislation
Strengths Weaknesses• ProtectedstatusforallCITES-listedspecies. • Norequirementtoreleasemarinewildlifethat
hasbeencapturedaccidentally.
22
• Detailedlistofprohibitedactivities,includingpossessionofdestructivefishinggear,destructionofhabitat,andtrade,importandexportofwildlifewithoutapermit.
• Prohibitiononusingmasskillingequipment,explosives,poisons,electricityandotherdestructivefishingmethods.
• Licencesrequiredforfishingvesselsoverhalfaton.Permitsrequiredtoexploitwildlife,collectprotectedwildlifeforresearch,andimportorexportwildlife.
• Requirementforvesselsoverhalfatontoregisterandmaintainalogbook.
• Confiscatedwildlifetobehousedinrescuecentresandeventuallyreleasedintotheirnaturalhabitat.
• SpecificationofmaximumandminimumsentencesunderPenalCodeandLawonHandlingofAdministrativeViolations.
• ListsofaggravatingandextenuatingcircumstancesguidedeterminationofpenaltieswithinarangeonLawonHandlingofAdministrativeViolations.
• Increasedpenaltiesunderaggravatingcircumstances,includingrepeatoffences,offencesinvolvingorganisedcrime,abuseofpower,andparticularlyseriousconsequencesunderPenalCode.DecreeonAdministrativeSanctioninFisheriesFieldprovidesincreasedpenaltiesforcrimesinvolvinglargerquantitiesofillegallycollectedwildlifeorlargervessels.
• ProhibitionofabuseofpowerunderLawonEnvironmentalProtection,FisheriesLawandPenalCode.
• LawonHandlingofAdministrativeViolationsprohibitspersonstaskedwithsanctioningadministrativeviolationsfromfailingtodosoordoingsoimproperlyortooslowly.
• Lackofdetailsforlogbooksandvesselregistration,particularlyregardingvesselcompliancehistory.
• NorequirementtoreturnconfiscatedwildlifethatoriginatedoutsideVietNamtocountryoforigin.
• Lowadministrativepenalties.• Extenuatingcircumstancesallowingreduced
sentencesincludeoutstandingcontributionsinproduction,work,combatorstudy:asubjectivecriterionthatcouldbeabused.
• Finesmaybepostponedorwaivedforoffenderswithfinancialdifficulties.Whileimportanttorecogniseextraburdenofpenaltiesonpoorpeople,thismeasurecouldbeabused.
• Powersofenforcementagenciesgenerallyweakandnotclearlyspecified.
• NotalwaysclearwhethertheMinistryofNaturalResourcesandEnvironment(MONRE)ortheMinistryofAgricultureandRuralDevelopment(MARD-theMinistrythathousestheVietNamCITESManagementAuthority)hasjurisdiction.E.g.,MARDandMONREbothresponsibleforissuingpermitsforimportandexportofwildlife.
• Severaldifferentlistsofprotectedwildlifeinuse,leadingtoconfusioninenforcementandpossiblycontradictorymeasures.
• LawonHandlingofAdministrativeSanctionsexplicitlyplacesburdenofproofwiththoseenforcingthelawratherthansuspects.
• FisheriesLawpromotesoffshorefishing,whichcouldconflictwithsustainablemanagementoffisheriesresourcesinoffshoreareas.
• Largenumberofregulationsandissuingbodiesleadstodifficultyidentifyingactiveregulations.
4. METHODS
The study was conducted through a combination of field observations, review of online platforms,interviews with stakeholders, analysis of trade and seizure data from third-party organizations andreview of publicly-available literature. Data gathered from these methods focused mainly oninformation(pastandpresent)relatingtopresenceandprevalenceoftradeactivities,thetypesoftradeconducted, brief insights into perceived conservation impacts from the trade activities, and existingmanagementpractices. Thedatagatheredwerefurtheranalysedtoidentifytrendsintrade.Duetotimeconstraintshowever, thenumberof areas surveyed for turtle trade in the three countrieswaslimited to just key locations (hotspots) known to trade in turtle products based on past studies
23
conductedinthesethreecountries(TRAFFIC,2004;Profauna,2007;TRAFFIC,2009;TRAFFICSoutheastAsia,2009).Thisisfurtherlimitedinrelationtoanyseasonalityoftrade,particularlyinmeatandeggs(e.g.poachingofmarineturtlesandeggsishigherduringnestingperiods,whichvariesforspecies ineachcountry),consideringthatthecurrentsurveyswereone-off. Duetothis,adesktopsearchwasundertakentosupplementthedatacollectedthroughsurveywork. Further,30peoplefromvariousstakeholders(e.g.governmentagencies,NGOs,individualsworkingonmarineturtleresearch,etc)werecontactedfortradeinformationwherepossible.AcompletelistofstakeholdersengagedisprovidedinAnnex III. However, forthcoming datawas limited, given the time requested for information to beprovided,theshortnoticegivenintryingtomeetupwithstakeholdersconsideredauthoritiesonthesubject,reluctanceofstakeholderstoprovideillegaltradedata,etc.4.1 Seizure analysis ThisstudylookedatseizuredatarelatingtomarineturtlesforIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamfortheperiodbetweenJanuary2015andAugust2018.Thisseizureperiodwaschosentoenableanassessmentofmarineturtletraffickingdynamicsthatisreflectiveofamorecurrentscenario.Seizureincidentsthatoccurredpriorto2015aredescribedwhererelevant,butnotincludedintheoverallanalysis.Datawasextractedfromvarioussources,includingTRAFFICseizuredatarecords,mediareports,greyliteratureand records from other non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Seizures concerning live or deadanimalsand/ortheirpartsandderivativesthatweremadeinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamwereincludedintheanalysis.Seizuresconcerningbothnationalandinternationaltradewereincluded.Dataextractedfromeachseizure,whereavailable,includedinformationondateandplaceofseizure,originanddestinationaswellascommoditiesandquantitiesseized. Dueto the informationgaps insomeseizurerecords,notallrecordedturtlesintradecouldbeidentifiedtothespecieslevel.Forthepurposeof this analysis, the reported seizure data was assumed to be accurate. Records were checked forduplicates,andwheretheinformationfromseizuresappearedsimilar,thesewereeliminatedfromtheanalysistoavoidinflationofthedata. Whereturtlespeciesseizedwereprovidedwithintherecordsobtained,thespeciesindicatedwereacceptedasbeingtrue.Whereavailable,traderoutes(bothdomesticandinternational)wereextractedfromseizurerecords.Inthisinstance,a“seizurecountry”wasdefinedasthecountrywheretheseizuretookplace.Seizurecountrieswereclassifiedassource-,transit-ordestinationcountries.A“sourcecountry”wasdefinedas the first known point of a trade route, a “transit country” was defined as a country which hadfunctionedorwasintendedtofunctionasbothanimportingandare-exportingcountryinthetraderoute,anda“destinationcountry”wasdefinedasthelastknownorreportedpointofatraderoute.Giventheinconsistentwayseizuresandenforcementactionsarereportedandrecordedbythedifferentcountriesinthisstudy,itisunlikelythattheavailabledatasetisrepresentativeoftherealnumberofincidents involving marine turtles that have taken place during the research period. Due to theinherentlycovertnatureof the illegalwildlife trade, its trueextent isunlikely tobe reflectedby thereported seizure data alone. However, seizure data is inherently influenced by a number of biases,includingvaryinglevelsoflawenforcementineachcountry,differentreportingandrecordingpracticesof both law enforcement andmedia, variability in NGO behaviour and advocacy, different levels ofcorruption, languagebiases,peakturtlenestingseasons,etc. Therefore,ahighernumberofseizurerecordsinonecountrymaynotnecessarilytranslateintohigherwildlifetraffickinglevelsincomparisontoothercountries.
24
4.2 Market surveys PhysicalmarketsurveyswereundertakeninkeylocationsbylocalconsultantsandpartnerorganisationsbetweenJanuaryandJuly2018inIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam(Figure2).Ateachlocation,surveyswereconductedbyrecordingthetypesofturtleproductsofferedforsaleandprices(Table5).Wherepossible,conversationswereheldwithlocaltraders,togatherinsightsintosourceandrelevanttradedynamics, tough no information on turnover rates were provided. Due to the timing of thecommissioningandexpectedcompletiondate,fieldresearchwasnotconductedduringthepeaknestingseasonofApril–August.In Indonesia,atotalof61locationsknownasturtlenestingsitesortohavetradeinturtlepartsandproductswerevisitedi.e.eightinJava,30locationsinBali,11locationsinPadang,WestSumatraand12 locations in Sulawesi. These locations included turtle nesting beaches, hatcheries, tourist turtleattractions,localfisheriesportsandmarkets.EighteensouvenirandaccessoriesshopswerealsovisitedinBalitoassesstheextenttowhichturtleshellproductswerestillbeingsold.In Malaysia, the states known (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, 2009; WWF-Malaysia and Sabah WildlifeDepartment,2018) to have an active trade inmarine turtle products -Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak andTerengganu-werevisited. Surveyswereconductedoveraspanof17daysatwet,dryandsouvenirmarketsateachlocation.Atotalof24marketsacross10locationsweresurveyed,asummaryofwhichisprovidedinTable5.InVietNam,physicalmarketsurveysformarineturtleproductswereconductedbyEducationforNature–VietNam(ENV)betweenJanuaryandApril2018. Duringthephysicalsurveyatotalof436outlets(includingsouvenirshops,markets,andjewelleryshops)werevisitedinfivecities:Hanoi,HaTien,HoChiMinhCity,NhaTrangandVungTau(Table5).
25
Figure2:LocationsofphysicalmarketsurveysinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetweenJanuaryandJuly2018
26
Table5:PhysicalmarketsurveylocationsinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetweenJanuaryandJuly2018
Country Dates Locations Venues NumberofVenuessurveyed
Description
Indonesia April–July2018
EastandWestJava
Turtlenestingbeaches,hatcheriesandtouristturtleattractions
8 LocationsincludedPramukaIsland,HarapanIsland,KelapaDuaIsland,PangumbahanSukabumi,inWestJava;CemaraBeach,PantaiRejo,Banyuwangi,SukamadeBeach,MeruBetiriNationalPark,NgagelanBeachAlasPurwoNationalPark,BoomBeachinEastJava.
Bali Turtlenestingbeaches,hatcheriesandtouristturtleattractions
12 BeachesandshopsvisitedinKuta,Sanur,Ubud,andGianyarareasofBali.
Souvenirshops(Kuta,Denpasar,SanurandUbud)
18
WestSumatra
Turtlenestingbeaches,hatcheriesandtouristturtleattractions
11 Padangandadjacentareaswerevisitedtoassessthecurrentstateofthetradethere,particularlyofturtleeggs,whichwereformerlysoldtherequiteopenlyandinlargequantities.
Sulawesi Turtlenestingbeaches,markets,localfisheriesports
12 LocationsincludedMorowali(CentralSulawesi),PolewaliMandarandMajene(WestSulawesi),andMinahasa(NorthSulawesi),Wakatobi,NothernButon,Bau-bauCity,KendariCity,NothernKolaka,Muna,SouthernKonawe(SoutheastSulawesi)
Malaysia April–June2018
Sabah Wetanddrymarketsandsouvenirshops
15 LocationsincludedTawau,Semporna,LahadDatu,Sandakan,KotaKinabaluandKudat.
Sarawak Wetanddrymarkets 5 LocationssurveyedincludedSerikinandKuching.
Terengganu Wetanddrymarketsandsouvenirshops
3 KualaTerengganutown.
Melaka Wetmarket 1 Klebangtown.VietNam January
–April2018
Hanoi Souvenirshops,markets,andjewelleryshops
88 UndertakenbyENVanddatasharedwithTRAFFICforthisstudy.
HaTien 41HoChiMinhCity
139
NhaTrang 118VungTau 50
27
4.3 Online surveys InIndonesiaandMalaysia,onlinesurveyswereconductedoveraonemonthperiodbetween15Julyand15August2018focussingoncommercialportalsadvertisingturtleproductsforsaleandFacebook(Table6).Onehoureachdaywasspentsearchingandgatheringasmanyadvertsaspossibleonmarineturtle products offered for sale in each country. Data extracted from each advertisement, wherepossible, includedlocationofseller,typeofturtleproductforsale,quantityandprice. SearchtermsusedduringtheonlinesearcheswereinEnglish,Malay/IndonesianandMandarin(Table6).InVietNam,theonlinemarketsurveyformarineturtleproductswasconductedbyEducationforNature–Vietnam (ENV) between on 26-27March 2018 for seven hours each day (total of 14 hours). Fivekeywordswereused for the survey (Table6). Theonline survey includedsearchenginesand socialmediawebsites(exactnumberofsurveyedplatformsnotprovided).Table6:OnlinesurveydetailsconductedinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam,2018
Country Date KeyTermsUsedIndonesiaandMalaysia
15July-15August2018
InEnglish:seaturtles,marineturtles,turtlemeat,andturtleeggsInLocallanguage(Malay/Indonesian):penyu,telurpenyu,telorpenyu,baranganpenyu,antikpenyu,dagingpenyuInMandarin:
� seaturtle),� (seaturtleeggs),� (seaturtlemeat)
VietNam 26-27March2018
InVietnamese:Đồimồi(HawksbillTurtle),Rùabiển(marineturtle),Lượcđồimồi(bekkocomb),Đồimồimỹnghệ(bekkohandicraft)
28
5. RESULTS
5.1 Marine Turtle Seizures
5.1.1 Seizure Records and Commodities Seized A total of 153 marine turtle seizure records were obtained for Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet NambetweenJanuary2015andAugust2018(Table7).Afulllistofseizurerecords,includingthesourceofinformation is provided in Annex IV. Most seizure records obtained involved Indonesia (45.6%),followedbyVietNam(30.7%)andMalaysia(23.5%).Table7:Numberofseizurerecordsinvolvingmarineturtles,partsandproductsthathaveoccurredinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2015anduptoAugust2018
CountryofSeizure 2015 2016 2017 2018 TotalIndonesia 12 31 12 15 70Malaysia 6 14 12 4 36VietNam 7 18 10 12 47Total 25 63 37 31 153
Source: Datawas extracted from various sources, including TRAFFIC seizure data records,media reports, greyliteratureandrecordsfromothernon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs)(refertoAnnexIVforacompletelistofseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformation).
A diverse range of commodities were seized in the 153 records involving Indonesia, Malaysia andVietNam, broadly including eggs, whole specimens, shells and meat. A full breakdown of thecommoditiesseizedinthethreecountriesisprovidedin(Table8).Ofthese,marineturtleeggswerethemostabundant commodity seized,particularly inMalaysia. Thiswas followedby seizureof livemarineturtles(mostlyinMalaysia)andturtleshells(mostlyinIndonesia).Figure3illustratesasummaryofseizuresandcommoditiesofmarineturtles,partsandproductsoverthisperiod.Thespeciesofmarineturtleinvolvedwasnotspecifiedinallseizurerecords(Figure4).Howeverwherethis informationwasavailable (n=102 incidents),GreenTurtlewasthemost frequentspeciesseized,reportedin36%ofincidents,followedbyHawksbillTurtle,reportedin18%ofincidents.Overall,thisamountedtoaminimumof2,310wholespecimens,quantifiedintermsoflive,deadandtaxidermiedcommoditiesseizedwhichrepresentwholeanimals. Ofthis,GreenTurtleshadthehighestnumberswithaminimumof399wholeanimals,followedbyHawksbillTurtlewith173,LeatherbackTurtlewith72,andOlive-RidleyTurtlewith8. Itwasnotpossible todeterminehowmanywholeanimalswerederivedfromthequantityofmeatandshellproductsseized.Abreakdownofcommoditiesseizedbyspeciesidentified,wherethiswasavailable,isprovidedinTable9.Table8:MarineturtlecommoditytypesandtotalquantitiesseizedinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2015andAugust2018
Commoditiesseized Indonesia Malaysia VietNam Total
Eggs 14,528 67,962 1,626 84,116
Wholespecimens 2,310
Live 586 1,201 49 1,836
Dead 63 225* 12** 300
29
Taxidermied/stuffed 18 0 156 174
Shells 2,658
Unprocessedshells(pieces) 970*** 53 0 1,023
Unprocessedshells(kg) 609 127 3 739
Processedshells(souvenirs,jewellery) 936 0 0 936
Meat(kg) 526 153 8 687
Source: Datawas extracted from various sources, including TRAFFIC seizure data records,media reports, greyliteratureandrecordsfromothernon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs)(refertoAnnexIVforacompletelistofseizurerecordsincludingcommoditiesseizedandsourcesofinformation).Note:Atleastfourseizurerecordsdidnothavequantitiesofseizedproductsreportedi.e.*oneseizureinMalaysiaof turtleorgans;**oneseizure inVietNaminvolvinga40ftcontainercontainingdeadandtaxidermiedmarineturtlesaswellasdried lizardsthatreportedlynumbered in thethousands;and***twoseizures in IndonesiaofHawksbillTurtleshells.Table9:Commoditiesseizedperspeciesbetween2015andAugust2018
CommoditySeized GreenTurtle HawksbillTurtle Leatherback
TurtleOlive-Ridley
TurtleUnknown/Unreported
Live 364 39 71 6 1,259Dead 23 52 225Taxidermied 12 82 1 2 78Shell(pieces) 33 964 23Shell(kg) 127 612Shell(processed) 382 554Eggs 22,441 150 61,525Meat(kg) 209 478
Note:Notincludedinthetableisafurthertwoseizuresinwhichallfourspecieswereidentifiedasbeingseizedwithatotalof95liveindividuals,howeverabreakdownforeachspecieswasnotprovided,inwhichcasenumberswilldifferfromthetotalofwholeindividualsseizedinthetextabove.
30
Figure3:Summaryofmarineturtles,partsandproductsseizedfromJanuary2015–August2018.
Source: Datawas extracted from various sources, including TRAFFIC seizure data records,media reports, greyliteratureandrecordsfromothernon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs)(refertoAnnexIVforacompletelistofseizurerecordsincludingcommoditiesseizedandsourcesofinformation).
31
Figure4:TheproportionofmarineturtlesseizedbyspeciesinIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2015andAugust2018.Basedonatotalnumberof153incidentsalthoughnotethatinsomeseizurerecordsmorethanonespeciesofmarineturtleisreportedasseizedwhichisincludedinthepercentagereportedforeachspecies.
SeizuresoutsideIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamthatimplicatedthemTherewereatleasteightotherseizurerecordsthattookplaceoutsideIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamfrom2016-2017, but implicated them in the international traffickingofmarine turtles. Six of theseoccurredinChinainwhichbothIndonesiaandVietNamwerethereportedorigins,andtheremainingtwo occurred in France and the Philippines respectively, with Viet Nam reported as the intendeddestinationinbothcases(Table10).Frenchauthoritiesestimatedthatthe496kgofHawksbillshellsseizedrepresentedaminimumof380marineturtles.This, incombinationwiththetaxidermied, liveanddeadturtlesseized(Table10)areestimated toamount toaminimumof782HawksbillTurtleswereseized fromtheseeight incidentsalone.Theseseizuresareprovidedheretoillustratethepresenceofinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtles in theAsian region,however theyareexcluded from in-depthanalysis considering therewasinsufficienttimetoconductathoroughsearchofseizuresthathaveoccurredgloballybutwhichindicateIndonesia,MalaysiaorVietNamaseithersource,destinationortransitcountries.Table10:RecentexamplesofseizurerecordsthatoccurredoutsideofIndonesiaandVietNambutthatimplicatebothcountriesintheinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtles
Year CountryofSeizure
Locationofseizure
Originofshipment
Destinationofshipment
Commodityseized
Quantity Species
2017 France CharlesdeGaulleAirport
Haiti VietNam shell 496kg(~380whole
specimens)
HawksbillTurtle
2017 China Fangchenggang(Guangxi)
VietNam China taxidermied 38 HawksbillTurtle
2017 China Fangchenggang(Guangxi)
VietNam China taxidermied 2 HawksbillTurtle
GreenTurtle(36%)
HawksbillTurtle(18%)
OliveRidleyTurtle(3%)
LeatherbackTurtle(2%)
Unknown(42%)
32
2016 China Xiamen Indonesia China taxidermied 1 Notspecified
2016 China Fangchenggang(Guangxi)
VietNam China live 153 HawksbillTurtle
2016 China Xiamen Indonesia China shell 33 HawksbillTurtle
2016 China Fangchenggang(Guangxi)
VietNam China dead 109 HawksbillTurtle
2016 Philippines Palawan Philippines VietNam dead 100 HawksbillTurtle
5.1.2 Hotspots and Routes Asummaryofseizures in thethreecountriesbetweenJanuary2015andAugust2018 isprovided inFigure5.Ofthetotal70incidentsrecordedinIndonesia,Baliwasthemostfrequentseizurelocationwith24%(n=17incidents)(Table11).Thismostlyinvolvedliveturtlesandmeat.Asidefromthis,WestKalimantan,EastJava,EastKalimantanandNusaTenggaraEastwerealsonotableinmakingseizures,involvingacombinationofallcommoditytypes,exceptmeat.Table11:MainseizurelocationsinIndonesiabyprovinces,betweenJanuary2015andAugust2018(refertoAnnexIVforcompletelistofseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformation)
Indonesia 2015 2016 2017 2018 TotalBali 4 7 2 4 17WestKalimantan 1 5 1 7EastKalimantan 3 2 5
EastJava 3 1 1 5NusaTenggaraEast 1 4 5SouthSulawesi 3 1 4
Papua 2 1 3Sulawesi 2 1 3NorthSulawesi 1 2 3Banten 1 1 2Maluku 2 2CentralSulawesi 2 2WestSulawesi 2 2Aceh 1 1Jakarta 1 1CentralJava 1 1
WestJava 1 1CentralKalimantan 1 1
RiauIslands 1 1NusaTenggaraWest 1 1WestPapua 1 1Bengkulu 1 1SouthSumatra 1 1Total 11 32 12 14 70
33
InMalaysia, themajority of seizures occurred in the state of Sabah,with Sandakan being themostfrequent seizure location (Table 12). All incidents in Sandakan involved the seizure of eggs (n=22incidents).Inatleast12oftheseincidents,theseizuresweremadeofftheSandakancoast.Table12:MainseizurelocationsinMalaysiabystate,betweenJanuary2015andAugust2018(refertoAnnexIVforcompletelistofseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformation)
State 2015 2016 2017 2018 TotalSabah 5 14 12 3 34Sarawak 1 1 2Terengganu 1 1Total 6 14 13 4 37TheProvinceofVungTauandHoChiMinhCityinVietNamwerethemostfrequentseizurelocations,with10and8incidentsrespectivelyofatotalof42records(Table13).Thismostlyinvolvedtheseizureoftaxidermied,eggsandliveturtles.Table13:MarineturtleseizuresinVietNambyProvincebetweenJanuary2015andAugust2018(refertoAnnexIVforcompletelistofseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformation)
Province 2015 2016 2017 2018 TotalVũngTàu 5 4 1 10HoChiMinh 1 5 2 8HaLong 1 2 3QuảngNgãi 1 1 1 3KienGiangProvince 3 3BinhThuan 2 2CàMau 2 2DaNang 1 1 2BắcKạn 1 1BacLieu 1 1BếnTre 1 1HaNoi 1 1HaiPhong 1 1NhaTrang 1 1PhúQuýIsland 1 1PhanRang–ThápChàm 1 1PhúYên 1 1QuảngNam 1 1TháiBình 1 1ThừaThiên–Huế 1 1Unknown 2 2Total 7 18 10 6 47Whenassessingseizuresmadeinthethreecountriesaswellasthosemadeoutsidebutimplicatedthem,at least 43 trade routeswere recordedbetween January 2015 andAugust 2018. This involvedbothdomestictraderoutes,mostlyinvolvingIndonesiaandMalaysia(Figure6)andinternationaltraderoutes(Figure7).
34
In termsofdomestic traderoutes, theseweremostlyapparent for Indonesia (n=17 incidents)whichlargelyinvolvedlivemarineturtlesandeggs.ThemostfrequenttraderoutesusedwerefromMaduraIslandstoBali(revealedinatleast6incidents,allinvolvingliveturtles)followedbyfromRiauIslandstoWestKalimantan(revealedinatleast3incidents,allofturtleeggs).Fromthe17incidents,seawasthemore common (76%) mode of transporting marine turtle commodities within Indonesia, with theremainderbeingtransportedbyair.InonlyoneincidentinMalaysiaadomestictraderoutewasreported-theshipmentof365eggsbyairfromKotaKinabalu,Sabah(EastMalaysia)tothestateofKelantaninPeninsularMalaysia(shippedbyair).Therewere26incidentsrevealingtheinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtles,partsandderivatives.Ofthese,Chinawasimplicatedasadestinationcountryinatleast11incidents,withoriginsreportedasIndonesia(n=7incidents)andVietNam(n=4incidents).ShipmentsfromIndonesiawereviaairandseawhereasforVietNamitwasmostlyby land, interceptedbyChinesecustomsattheGuangxiborder.Malaysiawasimplicatedasadestinationcountryinatleasttenincidents–alleggs,totalling52,840eggs.NineoftheseseizurestookplaceinSabah,mostlyreportedtobefromthePhilippineswiththeexceptionofone incident reporting that theeggswereheading toKelantan inPeninsularMalaysia. In theoneincident involving Indonesia, marine turtle eggs were being smuggled from Riau Islands to WestKalimantanbyseaandfromtherebylandacrosstheborderintoSarawak.TheeightincidentsinvolvingthePhilippinesasasourcewereofturtleeggs,meatandshellstoSabahviasea. VietNamwasalsoimplicatedasadestinationcountry inat leastsix incidents,withoriginsmostlyreportedasMalaysia(n=3incidents)involvingillegaltradeinbothliveanddeadmarineturtles,followedbyHaiti,IndonesiaandthePhilippineswithoneincidenteach.Inallincidents,shipmentsweremadeviasea,barringtheoneshipmentfromHaitiwhichwasinterceptedattheCharlesdeGaulleAirportinFrance.
35
Figure5LocationofseizuresforIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2015andAugust2018.AllseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformationarepresentedinAnnexIV.Numbersinbracketsrefertothenumberofseizuresinthatlocation.Wherenonumbersareprovided,thismeanstherearetwoorlessincidentsforthatlocation
36
Figure6:DomestictraderoutesforIndonesiaandMalaysiabasedonseizuredatabetween2015andAugust2018..AllseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformationarepresentedinAnnexIV.Thickerarrowsrefertothatparticularroutebeingmentionedthreeormoretimesinseizurerecords,whilethinnerlinesrefertheroutebeingmentionedonce.
37
Figure7:InternationaltraderoutesforIndonesiaandMalaysiabasedonseizuredatabetween2015andAugust2018.AllseizurerecordsandsourcesofinformationarepresentedinAnn
38
5.2 Physical Market and Online Surveys
5.2.1 Indonesia
Ofthe61locationsandoutletsvisited,only5locationssoldmarineturtleproductsopenly,inBaliandin
Sulawesi. Of the 18 souvenir shops visited, only two shops in Gianyar, Bali were found to be selling
productsmadefromturtleshells(Table14).Theturtleproductswererelativelyexpensiveastheywerecoveredinsilverandmotherofpearl(Photo1).TherewasnootherevidenceofturtleshellproductsinothersouvenirshopsvisitedinBali.
Table14:ShopsfoundsellingornamentsmadeoutofturtleshellsinBali,May2018
Date Location Typesofitemsrecordedforsale NumberofItems
PricePeritem
27May2018 Gianyar Smallornamentintheshapeofaturtle 1 IDR5,000,000
(~USD355)
Ornamentsmadefrompreserved
mediumandlargeturtles
2 “Notforsale”
27May2018 Gianyar Smallornamentintheshapeofturtles 2 IDR5,280,000
(~USD380)
Photo1Ornamentaltaxidermiedturtles(rightandleft)withsilveroverlay,Bali2018
Generally,theopensaleofmarineturtleproductsappearstohaveeitherdeclinedorhavebecomemore
discreetinSulawesi.Thisislikelyduetogreaterenforcementeffortincludingcollaborativeworkbetween
thelocalgovernment,police,NGOsandlocalcommunities.Ofthe12locationsvisited,turtleproducts
werefoundinthreelocationsandincludeddeadturtlesfortaxidermy,meat,eggsandproductssuchand
ringsandbraceletsmadefromturtleshells(Table15).
Table15:MarineturtleproductsforsaleinSulawesi,July2018
Location Sitesvisited Typesofitemsrecordedforsale
NorthSulawesi -TomohonMarket
-Minahasa‘TheExtreme’Market
Turtlemeatandbodyparts
WestSulawesi -‘PasarSentral’WonomulyoMarket Turtleeggs
39
SoutheastSulawesi -WameoMarket
-KamaliBeach
Braceletsandrings
Althoughnotvisitedduringmarketsurveys,MentawaiislandsandEastNusaTenggaraarereportedto
beasignificantsourceofturtleeggs,meatandshellproductsforsaleastheislandersherestillhavea
strongtraditionalcultureofcatchingandconsumingturtles(Damanhuriperscomm,2018;WWF-
Indonesiaperscomm,2018)(Photo2).Photo2MarineturtleproductsforsaleillegallyinMentawaiIslandsinSumatra(allphotosobtainedfromlocalsourcesi.e.H.Damanhuri(2015)and(Khalis2018)
(i)Preparation
ofturtlemeat
(ii)Turtleshell
braceletsfor
sale
40
(iii)Turtlestobe
slaughteredfor
theirmeat
Itwouldappearthatduringthepast15years,inanattempttoaddressthemarineturtletradeproblem
inIndonesia,theestablishmentofturtlehatcherieshaveincreasedaroundthecountry.Alistofturtle
hatcheriesvisitedduringthemarketsurveysandabriefdescriptionofeachisprovidedinAnnexV.Ingeneral, some of these establishments are more successful than others i.e. some are intended for
conservationpurposeswhileothersaspurelycommercialenterpriseswithlittleconservationvalue.In
thecaseofthelatter,suchcentershavebeenestablishedfortouristentertainmentandassuchlikelyto
notonlybedetrimentaltotheturtlestheykeepbutalsotowildpopulationswiththepotentialtransfer
ofdiseasesfromthereleaseofcaptiveturtles.Furthermore,suchcentersmayalsobeconduitsthrough
whichturtleeggsandmeataremoreeasilysold(Firliansyahetal.,2017);itisnotknowntowhatextentthismaybecurrentlyhappening.
Theopenavailabilityofproductsmadeoutofturtleshellsismoreapparentononlinemarketswithinthe
country,comparedtophysicalmarkets.Overaonemonthspan,aminimumof607individualitemsand
400gofeggswereofferedthrough213advertisementswererecordedoncommercialtradeplatforms
(Table16). Avarietyofproductswererecordedalthoughthismostlyinvolvedbraceletsbutalsodried
turtleeggpowder,reportedlyusedasfishbait,andturtleoil,advertisedasbeinggoodfortreatingskin
problems suchas acne, eczema, andother allergies. Mostof theadvertswere foundon commercial
internettradeplatforms-LazadafollowedbyShopee,andtoamuchlesserextent,TokopediaandPrelo.
Atleast106traderswererecorded,thoughtherewaslittleinformationprovidedintermsofsellerlocation
(only27advertshadseller location). Jakartawas themost frequent locationmentioned,noted in14
adverts.
Table16:Marineturtleproductsbeingadvertisedforsaleonline,JulytoAugust2018
TypeofProducts
Price Quantity NoofSites No.oftraders
Belt IDR1700000(~USD120) 1 1 1
41
BraceletIDR25000-IDR450000(~USD1.5O-USD31.50) 207 5 14
Driedturtleeggpowder
IDR4000-IDR54000(~USD0.30-USD7)
172packets 3 43
EarringsIDR44600–IDR194600(~USD3–USD13)
20pairs 2 7
Eggs IDR23000(~USD1.50) 400g 1 1
FanIDR750000–IDR1100000(~USD52–USD75)
4 2 2
HairClip IDR130900(~USD9) 1 1 1HairPin IDR50000(~USD3.40) 19 1 1
NecklaceIDR50000–IDR450000(~USD3.40–USD31.50)
24 2 3
RingIDR1000–IDR65000(~USD0.60–USD4.50)
31 2 4
SpectaclesIDR29000–IDR292000(~USD2–USD20) 13 3 10
TaxidermiedIDR600000–IDR12000000(~USD42–USD840) 7 2 5
TurtleOilIDR18500–IDR199000(~1.20–USD14) 107 3 13
Watchstrap IDR17500(~USD12) 1 1 1TOTAL 29 106
Note: USD exchange rate based on https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ as of August 2018. Quantitiesprovidedshouldbeinterpretedwithcautionasitwasnotalwayspossibletodetermineduplicateswhereproductssuchasdriedturtleeggpowderandturtleoilwereadvertisedforsale.Thisissimilarwithjewellerywherequantitieswerenotstatedbutjustapictureprovided.Itshouldalsobenotedthatsometraderssellmorethanonetypeofturtleproductparticularlywherejewelleryitemslikenecklace,braceletsandringsareconcerned.
5.2.2 Malaysia MarineturtleproductswerefoundinthreeofthefourStatessurveyedbeingsoldby18vendors(Table
17).Thelocaltradeofmarineturtlepartsandproductsappearstolargelyinvolveturtleeggswhileturtle
meatconsumedlocallyappearstocatermainlytoforeigntourists.Anecdotalinformationalsoseemsto
suggestthatturtlemeatfromMalaysiaisnowbeingtradedtoChina.Whileliveturtleswerenotobserved
forsaleduringmarketsurveys,thetradeofliveturtleshasbeennotedinSabah,whereturtlesarehunted
andsoldfirsttomiddlemenandthenforeignfishermen,withpricesrangingfrom100/kg(USD25)perkilo
fordriedmeat,up toMYR1300 (USD327) for small-sizedor juvenile turtles (WWF-MalaysiaandSWD,
2018). Open tradewas recorded inat least three states– Sabah, SarawakandTerengganu,withan
estimatedminimumof1250eggsoffered(Table17).Eggsappearedtobeofferedatthelowestpricein
Sarawak(wheretradeisillegal),atMYR2(USD0.50)peregg,withpricesofuptoMYR6(USD1.50)peregg
inTerengganuwheretheeggtradeislegal.Domestictradeappearstobemainlyfocusedontheselling
andpurchasingofturtleeggsandmeatforconsumption.(Table17).
Table17:SummaryofresultsfromthephysicalmarketsurveyofturtleproductsinMalaysiabetweenAprilandMay2018
State Venuetype/locality
Numberofoutletsvisited
Typeofitemsrecordedforsale
Quantity Price
Melaka Wetmarket 1 None NA NA
42
Sabah Wetanddry
markets
14 None NA NA
Souvenir
shops
3 None NA NA
Roving
traders*
Upto10traders
wereobservedin
Sandakan;1to2
inothertowns.
Eggs Approx.50
eggs/trader
- RM3.50/egg
(fresh)
(USD0.90)
- RM5.50/egg
(boiled)
(USD1.40)
Sarawak Wetanddry
markets
4 Eggs Approx.50eggs
(onlyobservedat
onevendorin
Serikinmarket)
- RM20(USD0.50)
forteneggs(only
soldinbatchesof
10)
Souvenir
shops
1 None NA NA
Terengganu Wetanddry
markets
2 Eggs Approx.100–150
eggs/vendor
(atleast7vendors
observedselling
turtleeggs
RM4-RM6/egg
(USD1-USD1.50)
Souvenirshop 1 None NA NA
Note:*InalloftheareassurveyedinSabah,tradeofturtleeggsareconductedcovertlywithtraderscomprisingofindividualtraderswithnoestablishedbaseofsale.Traderstypicallyroamaroundtownapproachingpotentialbuyersthroughthe‘OK’sign,whichiscommonlyunderstoodtorefertoavailabilityofturtleeggsforsale.USDexchangeratebasedonhttps://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/asof26June2018.
Between15Julyand15August2018,onlyonepostwasrecordedduringthesurveyoncommercialtrade
portalsandFacebookofferingonebraceletforsalebyasellerlocatedinSelangor,beingsoldforMYR90
(USD22).Outsidethisresearchperiod,a21-hoursnapshotresearch,conductedinJune2018overone
week across 18 sites found only turtle eggs being offered – these offers were posted on Facebook.
Comparedtothesinglepostofferingthebracelet,theJunesurveyfoundnoevidenceoforganizedtrading
ofturtleeggspresent,withalltradeoffersmadebyindividualsonanad-hocbasis.Forthemostpart,
tradeobservedonlinefromtheJunesurveywaslocatedintheeastcoastPeninsularMalaysiastatesof
KelantanandTerengganu,withsomefromSabah. Eggswereofferedon individual trader’spagewith
pricerangingfromRM1(USD0.25)toRM5(USD1.25)pereggwithwouldbebuyersrequiredtocollectthe
eggsin-personatadesignatedlocation.Thevolumeofeggsbeingofferedforsaleonlineseemssmalland
isconductedonanopportunisticbasiswithtypicaloffersrangingfrom10to50eggs.
Asidefromthedemandforturtleeggsforconsumption,theredoesnotappeartobemuchdemandfor
productsmadeofturtleshellsorstuffedturtlesinMalaysia.Onlinetrade,althoughfoundsometurtle
eggs offered for sale, and the one turtle shell bracelet, appeared to be veryminimal. These findings
correspondwiththemarketsurveyresults.
5.2.3 Viet Nam Marine turtleproductswereobserved for sale in39of the436outlets surveyedby theEducation for
Nature-VietNam(ENV). MostofthesewereobservedinHaTien(n=9outlets),HoChiMinhCity(n=9
43
outlets) and Nha Trang (n=10 outlets). However, Ha Tien (23%) and Vung Tau (12%) had a higher
proportionofsurveyedoutletssellingmarineturtleproducts(Table18).
Table18:LocationsinVietNamobservedsellingmarineturtleproductsbetweenJanuaryandApril2018
Location OutletsSurveyed
Outletswithturtleproducts(No.)
Outletswithturtleproducts(%)
Hanoi 88 5 5.7%
HaTien 41 9 22%
HoChiMinhCity 139 9 6.5%
NhaTrang 118 10 8.5%
VungTau 50 6 12%
TOTAL 436 39 8.9%Source:ENV,2018.Note:SurveysbyENVarestillon-goingandassuchtheywereunabletosharequantitiesofitemsrecordedforsaleintimeforthisstudy.
MostoftheproductsobservedforsaleweremadefromHawksbillTurtleswithasmallnumbermadefrom
GreenTurtles (thesehoweverwerenot specified). Noother species ofmarine turtlewerepositively
identified on themarket. The products observedweremostly small personal items (bracelets, fans,
combs,pendants)except for trophies (indicatingwholepreservedspecimens). Although theabsolute
numberof itemsobservedwasnotavailable,braceletsweremostfrequentlyobserved(in31outlets),
followedbytrophies(in15outlets).
Similar findings were observed by TRAFFIC in 2016, 2017 and 2018, during general physical market
monitoringwithinVietNam.Atleast199marineturtleproductswereofferedforsaleinfivecitiesinViet
Nam(Table19)at15differentoutlets.Notably,11ofthoseoutletswereobservedofferingmarineturtle
productsonmorethanoneoccasion,withatleasttwooutletsofferingproductsonfouroccasions.Allthe
products observed were from Hawksbill Turtles and most of these were either bangles or bracelets
(n=148).
Table19:MarineturtleproductsobservedforsaleinfourcitiesinVietNambetween2016,2017and2018
Location No.ofProductsHaLong 13
Hanoi 87
HoChiMinhCity 83
MongCai 2
NhaTrang 14
TOTAL 199Source:TRAFFIC,unpublisheddata
DuringtheonlinesurveyconductedbyENV,atotalof25individuals(uniqueonlineaccounts)werefound
tobesellingmarineturtleproductsonlinevia42differentadvertisements/posts. Aswiththephysical
market,mostoftheproductsobservedforsaleonlineweresmallpersonalitems(bracelets,fans,glasses,
fingerpicks)inadditiontotrophies.Meatwasobservedforsaleononeoccasion(quantitynotprovided).
Noinformationwasprovidedregardingthespeciesortheabsolutenumberofproductsobserved.
44
6. DISCUSSION
6.1 Domestic Trade Dynamics 6.1.1 Indonesia Thefollowinginformationisbasedoninformationobtainedthroughconversationsanddiscussionswith
relevantstakeholdersaswellasdataextractedfrommarketsurveys,seizuredataandexistingliterature
toprovideanunderstandingofthetradedynamicsrelatedtomarineturtlesinIndonesia.
ThetradeofmarineturtlesandtheirproductsappearstobewidespreadinIndonesiawithturtleeggs,
meatandshellsstillindemandlocally.Stricterenforcementandmediacoverageofseizuresisthought
tohaveledtogreaterawarenessamongthegeneralpublicabouttheprotectedstatusofmarineturtles.
Thisappearstohavedriventhetradeinliveturtles,meat,eggsandshellproductslargelyunderground
withaccurateinformationnowmuchhardertocomeby.Regardless,thewidespreadnumbersofreports
fromthroughoutthearchipelagoindicatethatthistradecontinues.Similarly,theopensaleofturtleshell
product appears to be limited in physicalmarkets, compared to TRAFFIC’s previous surveys in 2009.
However,theonlinesurveyrevealedanactivetrade inmarineturtleproductssuchas jewellerymade
fromturtleshells,fishbaitpowdermadefromdriedturtleeggsandturtleoil.
Whileitismoredifficulttoidentifyindividualtrade'hotspots'forexport,bigcitieswithports,andsmaller
ports and harbours everywhere provide easier trade routes than using flights. A number of seizures
occurringwithinIndonesianwaterswithWestSumatra,Java,Kalimantan,Sulawesi,andfurthereast,in
Papuaalsohighlighttheseareasasmaintradinghubs(SeeSection5formoreinformationonseizures).
Local consumption and sales ofmarine turtles, eggs and products are reported to be taking place at
roadside stalls andvillage/small townmarketsnearer to thenestingbeachesandportswhere fishing
boatsmightbeabletobringliveanddeadturtlesashore.Itisreasonabletoassumethat,inmostplaces
whereturtlesarenestingorfeeding,therewillbesomelocalconsumptionand/orsaleofmeatandeggs.
Asmentionedabove,thecoastsofWestSumatra,Java,Bali,Kalimantanandperhapstoalesserextent
butstillsignificant,Sulawesi,MalukuandPapua,havetradehubsinthebiggercities. Theseareasare
likelybeingsupplied(mostlybyboat)fromthethousandsofsmallerislands.
Anothertrendthatmaybeofconcernisthesaleofmeatfromfreshwatersoftshellturtles(Trionichidae)
asmarineturtlemeat.Giventheunprotectedstatusandcaptivebreedingofmanysoftshellturtlespecies,
togetherwiththeconfusionamongthepublicaboutthedifferencesbetween landturtles (kurakura),softshellturtles(labi labi/bulus)andmarineturtles(penyu)andgrowingpublicawarenessthatmarine
turtlesarenotallowedtobecollectedandusedasmeat,highlightsthepotentialthreat/exploitationof
otherturtlespeciestomeetmarketdemandformarineturtlemeat(Anonperscomm,2018).
Followingtheincreasedenforcementofregulationsrelatingtothesaleandconsumptionofturtlesand
their products, some communities (notably in Bali) have opened ‘turtle attractions’ that attract large
numbers of fee-paying tourists. Permits are issued by BKSDA (the Nature Conservation arm of the
Government),andthesefacilitiesmayincludehatcheriesandlargenumbersofyoungandadultturtles.
Toobtainthenecessarypermits,facilitiesareestablishedforthepurposeofconservation,althoughthis
isnotalwaysthecase(seeAnnexV).
45
Onasmallerscale,butnolessimportant,arereportsoftraditionalpracticestocapturespecimens,where
hunting expeditions targeted atmarine turtles are sometimes practiced6. Variousmethods are used
offshoreincludingallsortsofnets,orbyspearingtheturtlefromabovethroughthecarapace(shellsof
turtles caught in thiswayhaveoneormorecharacteristicholes in the carapacewhere the spearhas
penetrated).Nestingturtlesarealsocaughtandbutcheredeitherbeforeorafterlayingtheireggs.This
reflects the widespread problem the authorities have in convincing local people to change long-
establishedtraditionalpractices.
af
AsummaryoftradeinsightsinkeyareasinIndonesiaisprovidedbelow.
KalimantanLying geographically close to other Asian countries, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) presents many
opportunitiesforillegalsalesandsmuggling.Withitsextensivebordersandboundariesinbothlandand
sea,andrelativelylowhumanpopulationdensities,theIndonesianpartofBorneoisdifficulttopatroland
monitoreffectively.ItsproximitytoSumatraandthemanysmallislandsinbetween,makeitoneofthe
mainhubsformarineturtletrade,andalsoaconduit forexportofturtleproductstoothercountries.
KalimantanhasbeenhighlightedpreviouslyasahotspotforeggcollectionintheSoutheastAsianregion
withsignificantamountsbeingexportedtoEastMalaysia(SabahandSarawak)(IOSEA,2014).Itwould
appearthis isstillthecasewithat leasteightseizuresrecordedinKalimantanbetween2015andMay
2018amountingtoover13200marineturtleeggsseized.
ThetradeinsouvenirsmadefrommarineturtleshellsisreportedlyalsoontheriseinEastKalimantan
(Profauna, 2015). Based on market observations by Profauna in June 2015, over 700 marine turtle
productsfromHawksbillTurtleshellswereobservedforsaleinBerau(AjiDilayasmarketandtwoshops
inTanjungRedeb),EastKalimantan.Itincludedbangles,necklacesandbracelets,sellingfromIDR10,000
toIDR70,000peritem.Turtleeggswerealsoreportedtobesoldinthemarket.Priortothis,inOctober
2014,ProfaunareportedthesaleofHawksbillTurtleshellproductsinthesameareatotheauthorities
andasaresult,salestemporarilydecreasedupuntilFebruary2015.However,inJune2016,marineturtle
productswereonceagainevidentforsaleinthearea(Profauna,2016).In2016,therewereatleasttwoseizure records in Kalimantan of 135 souvenir products made out of marine turtle shells and two
taxidermiedmarineturtles7.
SumatraAccordingtoseveralreports,poachingofGreenTurtlesatseainSumatraforlocalmeatconsumptionwas
stillrampantasof2011.ThewestcoastofSumatra,fromAcehinthenorthwesttoLampunginthesouth
east, togetherwith hundredsof offshore islands, has numerousmarine turtle nesting beaches. Until
relativelyrecently,tradeofallkindsfromtownsandcitiesonthenorthandwestcoaststowardstheeast
andinlandwasmainlybyroad.Withincreasednumbersofinternalandinternational–flightsoperating
fromcitiessuchasPadang,therehasbeenanincreasedfrequencyofturtleproducts–particularlyeggs,
beingtransportedtootherpartsof IndonesiaandoverseastoneighbouringMalaysia. Becauseofthe
predominantlyIslamiccultureinSumatra,theeatingofturtlemeatisforbidden(haram).However,turtle
eggsappear tobecollectedandeatenbyMuslimsalmosteverywhere theyare found. Consumersof
turtlemeatontheotherhandaremostlynon-Muslims.Therewereonlythreerecentseizurerecordsfor
Sumatra. Twooftheseoccurred in2016 involvingtheseizureof20kgofmarineturtleshellsandone
6http://www.mycoraltriangle.com/coralweb/stories/details.aspx?id=187https://www.turtle-foundation.org/en/profauna-news-officials-seized-hundreds-of-sea-turtle-shell-based-souvenirs-from-market-in-berau-
east-kalimantan/
46
taxidermiedmarineturtlespecimen.Thethirdincidentoccurredin2018involvingtheseizureof59Green
Turtleeggsfromalocalfishermen.
JavaJavaappearstobeahotpotformarineturtlepoachingandtradeparticularlyineggsandmeat.Turtle
nestingbeachesarerecordedinmanyplacesalongthecoastofJava.InMay2018,eightsiteswerevisited
inJavatoassessthecurrentstateofturtlemanagementthere.Poachingofturtleeggswasreportedfrom
allsites.ThereisevidencetosuggestthatsomeofthismaybetomeetdemandinBalibasedonseizure
data.IncreasedsurveillanceatthenarrowferrycrossingpointfromBanyuwangiineastJavatoGilimanuk
innorthwestBalihasresultedinincreasedseizuresofmanykindsofillegalgoods,includingturtles.There
isalsoanecdotalevidencethatsuggeststhatturtleeggswerebeingcollectedalongthesouthJavacoast
and then sold to traders who in turn resold the eggs to turtle hatcheries in Bali. Mortalities during
collection,holdingandtransportarethoughttobeveryhigh. In2016,localQuarantineofficersseized
twoliveGreenTurtlesand150kgofturtlemeatinBanyuwangiwhichwerebeingcarriedinapickuptruck
ontheirwaytotheferry.TheturtlesaresaidtohavecomefromPulauRaas(offMaduraisland,offthe
northeasterncoastofJava),andwereontheirwaytoBalitobesold.InJanuary2018,severaltraders
werecaughtsellingturtlemeat,boughtfromsellersfromPasarAnom,EastJava.
BaliBali presents a special case in the storyof themarine turtle trade,because,unlikeMuslims,Balinese
Hindushavenoreligioustaboosagainsteatingturtlemeat.Onthebasisthatturtleswerea‘necessary’
partofHinduceremonies(traditionalpracticesarepartofanoraltradition,andnowrittenevidencehas
yetbeendiscoveredtosupportthis),Balihaslongbeenatraditionalcentreandhubfortheturtletrade-
particularlythatofliveturtles.ItwassaidthenthatifoneorderedbeeftoeatinBaliinthosedays,itwas
probablymorelikelytobeturtlemeat.
Intheyears1969-1999,beforeturtleswereofficiallyprotected,anestimated19628–30121animals
werecollectedperyear8.Baliwasprobablythecentreofthelargestdomesticexploitationofseaturtles
intheworld,aswellasbeingtheleadingexporterofseaturtleproducts(Barr,2001;TroëngandDrews,
2004;IOSEA,2014).BalihadthehighestnumberofseizuresrecordedforIndonesiabetween2015and
May2018mostly involvinglivemarineturtlesandtoalesserextentmarineturtleeggsandmeatwith
evidenceindicatingthisfeedsbothadomesticandinternationalmarket(seesection5.1.2).
In2018,theturtlemeattradehasbecomemuchmoresecretive.Withlessturtlesbeingopenlyavailable,
(likelyduetoperceivedstricterenforcement,greaterawarenessofthe law,andpossiblyalsobecause
fewer turtles are in the sea or on the beaches) it would appear that the trade has become more
opportunisticinnature.Localsreportthatifaturtleappears,andthereislessriskofbeingcaught,itwill
betakenandslaughteredfor itsmeat(Anonperscomm,2018). Informationfromavillager inTuban,
southBali(neartheairport)saysthatlocalpeopleinKedonganan(southoftheairport)willcontacteach
otherifthereisturtlemeatavailableforsale.
Several attempts have been made to start community-based turtle watch and protection schemes,
including one in the main tourist area of Kuta beach. Nevertheless, turtles continue to be used in
ceremonies, and a number of locations still have captive turtles for tourists to see and/or release
(althoughatleastsomeofthemmayactuallybebeingusedasholdingareas/transitplacesforturtlesto
8http://www.ioseaturtles.org/eleclib/Turtletrade_Bali.pdf
47
beusedinceremoniesortraded).Duringthepast15years,severallocalattemptshavebeenmadeto
addressthemarineturtletradeproblembyestablishingturtlehatcheryprogrammes.In2018,12turtle
hatcheriesandattractionswereidentifiedinBali.Someoftheseturtleegghatcheriesdoprovideastrong
conservation and education message. However, these are undermined by the establishment of
commercial turtle ‘attractions’ catered to tourists that have little conservation value. Rather, these
centresaremoredetrimentaltothemarineturtlestheykeep,becauseofpotentialdiseasetransferfrom
captiveturtlestothewildpopulation.Furthermore,theymayalsobeconduitsthroughwhichturtleeggs
andmeataremoreeasilysold.Theseobservationsareborneoutbyapaperfrom2017thatcoversmany
ofthesameissuesinBali(Firliansyahetal,2017).
Photo3ReportedmarineturtleconservationcentresestablishedinBenoa,Balialsoserveastouristattractions,2018
SulawesiConsideringthelargesizeofthisisland,togetherwithitssurroundingsmallerislandsandislandgroups,
there is surprisingly little informationabout this region concerning the trade inmarine turtles. In the
southwest,thecapitalMakassar(alsoknownasUjungPandang)hasabigportandlargeairport,andacts
asamajorcommunicationshubfortherestofIndonesia.Anecdotalevidencesuggestedthat,afterthe
tradeintoandoutofBalibecamemorecloselymonitoredandcontrolled,turtletradeactivitiesshiftedto
Makassar. Basedonrecentseizuredata(2015-May2018),afterBali,Sulawesihadthesecondhighest
numberofseizuresrecordedforIndonesiainvolvingmarineturtleshellsaswellasliveanddeadmarine
turtles.InformationcollectedfromlocalsduringrecentsurveysindicatesthatSulawesihasanactivetrade
in turtle products, from live turtles tomeat, eggs, taxidermied aswell as jewellery such as rings and
braceletsmadefromturtleshells.
ThecoastsofMorowali(CentralSulawesi)andPolewaliMandar(WestSulawesi),CangkeIsland(South
Sulawesi), Saponda Laut IslandandBau-BauButon (Southeastern Sulawesi) havebeendescribedas a
hotspotfortheillegaltradeinturtleeggs.Turtlemeatandpartscanbefoundinthe‘ExtremeMarket’or
TomohonMarketinMinahasa(WestSulawesi)whileturtleshelljewellerycanbefoundinWameoMarket
andKamaliBeach.AccordingtothelocalauthoritiesandNGOsinIndonesia,turtleexploitationinSulawesi
hasgenerallybeendecreasingasaresultof lawenforcementeffortandawarenessraisingcampaigns.
However,the illegalexploitationofmarineturtlesstillpersiststhroughoutthe islandsalbeit inamore
clandestinemanner.Tradersreportedlycommunicatewithbuyersusingmobilephonestoarrangeasafe
place tomeet rather thansellproductsopenly. Theyalso reportedlyprefer tomarket theirproducts
online-onlinesurveyshowedavarietyofproductsbeingadvertised,verifyingthisclaim(seeTable16).
Profauna(2007)lookedatseveralareasinsoutheastSulawesiin2007,andreportedthatfourareas((P.
Wanci.Moramo,ErekeandTikep)hadanactivetradeinturtles.TheyalsoreportedtradefromPadeiand
48
MasudihangIslandsinCentralSulawesi.Sulawesiwasgenerallythoughttosupplymarineturtleproducts
fortradeinBali(Profauna,2007).Someofthiswasalsoobservedduringthissurvey(Table15).Atleast
oneseizurerecordin2016indicatesthatthispotentiallystillcontinueswithashipmentof70liveGreen
TurtlesinterceptedinCentralSulawesiwhichwasreportedlyonroutetoBali.IneasternSulawesi,stuffed
(taxidermied)marineturtleswereseenbeingsoldopenlyinashopinLuwuk(late2007)andthevillagers
oftheBanggaiarchipelagoreportedtheywillcatchturtleswithspearsandeattheeggsiftheycomeacross
them(Anon,pers.comm.,2018)
TurtlenestingbeachescanbefoundthroughoutSulawesi.Someofthemoreprominentlocationsforthe
differentspeciesarenotedasfollows:
Ø NorthSulawesi:Green,Hawksbill,Leatherback(Kab.TalaudandMinahasa),OliveRidley,
Loggerhead(Kab.Minahasa)
Ø CentralSulawesi:Green,Hawksbill
Ø SoutheastSulawesi:Green,Hawksbill,Leatherback(Kab.Wakatobi)
Ø SouthSulawesi:Green,OliveRidley
Ø WestSulawesi:Green,Hawksbill,OliveRidley
Ø Gorontalo:Green,Hawksbill,Leatherback(DiyonumoIsland)
MalukuMalukuProvincehasaverylargenumberofsmallislandscoveringahugearea.Thereareturtlenesting
beachesinthenorthonPulauMororo(northofHalmahera)andcentrallyonAmbonandSeram.In1998,
itwasestimatedthatsome6,000to8,000GreenTurtleswerecaughtannuallyfortheBalinesemarket
(MossandVanDerWal,1998).Inthesoutheast,therearemorenestingbeachesintheKeiislands,and
wherethenumbersofjellyfishattractLeatherbackTurtlestofeed.TheKeiIslanderswereknowntohunt
thisspeciesforfood(SuarezandStarbird,1995),andthereforemusthavesomewayofneutralizingthe
toxinsinthemeat,theconsumptionofwhichhasbeenknowntokillpeopleelsewhere.TheAruIslands
tothewestofPapuahavemanynestingbeaches,andturtlesarereportedtohavebeencaughtandtraded
from this region for generations. Therewere only two seizures recorded forMaluku, both ofwhich
occurred in 2017 involving 88 livemarine turtles (six of which subsequently died) of various species
includingHawksbillTurtle,GreenTurtleandOlive-RidleyTurtle.
PapuaBeingtheeasternmost,remotestprovinceofIndonesia,muchofPapuaisdifficulttoaccess.Ingeneral,
thehumanpopulationdensityissmall,evenalongthecoasts,socollectionandsaleofturtleeggsappears
toberestrictedandlocal.Someexportofturtlesandturtleproductsfromportsinthebiggertownssuch
as Jayapura,Merauke,SorongandManokwariare thought tooccur. Indeed, therewereat least four
seizuresrecordedforPapua,occurringinJayapuraandSorongbetween2015andMay2018.Oneofthese
incidentsrevealedtheinternationaltraffickingof50deadHawksbillTurtlestoVietNamin2015.
6.1.2 Malaysia InMalaysia,thehuntingandtradeinmarineturtlesandproductsisbannedinSabahandSarawak,but
the licensing of egg collection is allowed in the states of Terengganu and Melaka (states that were
surveyed). Terengganu is considered an important tradinghub formarine turtle eggs. Eggs obtained
illegallyfromotherpartsofMalaysia(e.g.Sabah)aswellasneighbouringcountrieslikeIndonesiaandthe
Philippines, are subsequently sold openly and legally in the state of Terengganu, akin to a ‘money
launderingscheme’(MT-IOSEA,2014).Tradeappearstohaveremainedconstantinthestate–basedon
thecurrentmarket survey in2018,at least1,000eggswerebeingsolddailyatPasarPayang inKuala
49
Terengganu (estimated at 365,000 eggs annually). Turtle eggs are often acquired in large quantities,
demonstratedbyseizuresofupto19,000eggsinasingleseizure9,andeggsaregenerallystockedforsale.
Thisgenerallycorrelateswith theyearly totalof422,000eggswhichwasestimated in2009 (TRAFFIC,
2009). In Sabah, based on observations and interviews with local stakeholders, there is a general
perceptionthatopentradeofturtlepartsandderivativesisonadecline.Thisisattributedtoperceived
increasedenforcementactivitiesinrecentyears-thehighestnumberofseizureincidentswererecorded
in2016and2017(WWF-MalaysiaandSWD,2018).Nevertheless,thisdownwardtrendmaybea‘false
positive’asfurtherinquiriesrevealedablackmarkettradeinturtleeggsandmeat.
Sabah ThewestcoastofSabah,Kudat,Sandakan,andTawauareconsideredtobethemainareaswhereturtle
poachingandtradingofturtleeggsoccur,whiletradinghubsforturtlepartsandderivatives,including
eggs, appear to be centred inmajor towns of Sandakan and Semporna, coincidingwith known turtle
nesting sites (WWF-Malaysia and SWD, 2018). According to a study byWWF and the SabahWildlife
Department(2018),themodusoperandiforpoachingofmarineturtleshasseenashiftinrecentyears
throughanincreaseininvolvementoflocalcommunitymembers.Theselocalcommunitiesarepaidto
captureturtleswhicharethencollectedincentralizedlocationsforpackagingandsubsequentexportto
foreignmarkets,namelyChina,VietNamandthePhilippines(WWF&SWD,2018).Thereasonforthis
shiftisthoughttobeduetoincreasedmaritimesecuritymakingitdifficultforforeignvesselstodirectly
operateinMalaysianwaters(WWF&SWD,2018).Poachingisfoundtocoincidewithpeakturtlenesting
seasoninSabahwhichrunsfromMaytoAugustannually.Marketpricesofliveturtlescurrentlystandat
RM300/kgforfreshmeat,RM100/kgfordriedmeat,RM2,000forliveadultturtles,andRM1,300for
live juveniles. Turtles are transferred from the poaching location to the collection centre as whole
specimensorasparts(e.g.scales,calipee,andplastron)(WWF&SWD,2018).
AccordingtoaninterviewconductedwiththeheadoflocalcouncilenforcementunitinSandakan,amayor
of a Philippine Island stated during a meeting that turtle eggs make up one of their major exports.
InterviewswithvarioussourcessuggestcertainbordertownsinMalaysiasuchasSerikininSarawak,and
potentiallySempornainSabah,arebeingusedastransithubsforinternationaltradeofturtlepartsand
derivativesfortheSoutheastAsianregion(WWF&SWD,2018;MT-IOSEA,2014).AsreportedinWWF&
SWD(2018),itissuspectedthatturtleproductsarebeingcollectedinthesetownsbeforebeingpacked
andshippedtooverseasmarkets,particularlytomeetthedemandincertainpartsofChina.Areviewof
pressclippingsofpreviousseizuresmadeinSabah’sjurisdictionshowsthatmanyoftheturtleproducts
seizedeitheroriginatedfromthePhilippinesorIndonesiaandaredestinedforexporttowardsVietNam
orChina,thesearemainlyconsignmentswhicharetransferredbyboat.
TheopenavailabilityofturtleproductsforsaleinSabahwaslimited.Duringmarketsurveys,therewere
noturtleeggs,partsorderivativesforsaleatvenuesvisited.Rather,tradeofturtleeggsareconducted
covertlywithtraderscomprisingofindividualswithnoestablishedbaseofsale.Traderstypicallyroam
aroundtownapproachingpotentialbuyersthroughthe‘OK’sign,whichiscommonlyunderstoodtorefer
toavailabilityofturtleeggsforsale.ThisisapparentinanumberofplacesinSabah.Salesweremade
predominantlyto local residentswithsellersrefusingtoengagewithtourists,especiallywhentourists
madetheinitialapproach.EggsaresoldatMYR3.50(USD0.88)perfreshegg,withanadditionalMYR
2.00(USD0.50)chargedpereggforboiledeggs.Itwasreportedthateachtraderappearstohavearound
50–60eggsatanypointoftime,andwillreplenishtheirstockfromacentral‘warehouse’asandwhen
9https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/07/16/sabah-police-turtle-eggs/
50
necessary(MajlisPerbandaranSandakan,perscomms,2018).InSemporna,therealsoappearstobean
increasing level of trade in turtle meat through exotic dishes covertly offered by eatery outlets,
particularlytosatisfythedemandfromtourists.Theserestaurantsdonotengagedirectlywithpotential
customersbutgothroughatrustedthird-partyinstead.Productsmadeofturtleshellswerenotobserved
duringthemarketsurveys,withtheexceptionofasingletaxidermiedturtlehatchling,decoratedwith
mother-of-pearlshellsobservedinamarketinKotaKinabalu.Itwasnotbeingsoldbutjustdisplayedfor
ornamental purposes (Photo 4). Conversationswith souvenir traders found that theywere unable tosource forbekkoproducts in recent years due to a significant reduction in supply. Further inquiriesrevealedthatturtle-derivedproductscanstillbesourcedandareavailableforpurchase,however,these
areonlyofferedbycertainindividuals.
Frominterviewswithvarioustraders insouvenirshops inKotaKinabalu,Tawau,andKudat, itappears
thatmostoftheturtleproducts(e.g.turtlemeat,eggs,andshellsouvenirs)areeitherlocallysourcedfrom
SabahorimportedfromthePhilippines.Mostoftheturtlemeataresourcedlocallywithincertainareas
aroundSabah’smore remote islandsorbeaches suchas Ligitan,Denawan,Bum-BumandOmadal, in
Sempornaandareusedasmainslaughteringhubs(WWF-MalaysiaandSWD,2018).Inthesecases,the
turtleswerefoundtohavebeenslaughteredwiththecarapaceleft,whichsuggeststheywereslaughtered
formeatandnotforornamentalortraditionalmedicinepurposes.
Photo4Taxidermiedturtlehatchlingwhichwasoverlaidanddecoratedwithmother-of-pearlshellswasobservedinamarketinKotaKinabalu,2018
Traders interviewed in Sandakan and Kudat reported that turtle eggs are sourced locally from Sabah
suppliedbyfreelanceharvesters,andinsomecases,byindividualsfromenforcementagencies.Inthe
latter case, these eggs are reportedly derived fromeggs collected for conservationpurposes, but are
deliberatelyunder-reportedsoastosupplythemarketdemand.Somerespondentsalsorevealedthat
theyperiodicallyobtainmarineturtlemeatfromindividualsworkinginlocalenforcementagencieswho
themselvesareinvolvedinthemeatharvestingprocess.
51
AlargebutundeterminedamountofturtleeggsarereportedtobeexportedoutofSabahforsaleinother
areas,namelyTerengganu,wheresaleandconsumptionofturtleeggsarepermissible.Arespondentin
Sandakan,whodeclinedtobe identified,statedthatthis isan ‘opensecret’whereeggsarepacked in
markedcargowhicharethenairliftedtoPeninsularMalaysia,particularlyTerengganu,tobesoldtothe
public. Market surveys and interviews conducted in Terengganu for this study discovered that eggs
sourcedfromSabahdoendupinthemarketsofTerengganu.
Sarawak OnlyonevendorwasobservedsellingmarineturtleeggsattheSerikinmarket.SimilartoSabah,trading
of turtle eggswas being conducted in a covertmanner. Most of the vendorswere suspiciouswhen
inquiries were made regarding availability of turtle eggs. The turtle eggs observed for sale by one
particularvendorwasalsokeptataseparatelocationandonlyacquiredafterinquiriesweremade.Eggs
werebeingsoldatMYR2(USD0.50)peregg,althoughaminimumpurchaseof10eggswasrequired.It
wasestimatedthatthevendorwasinpossessionof50eggs.Whileotherproductsderivedfromother
wildlifewereshowcasedatamajorityofthestalls,observationsoftheproductsonofferdidnotreveal
anyproductsmadeofmarineturtleparts.Tradingofturtles,turtlepartsoreggswasnotobservedinany
ofthemarketsandshopsvisitedaroundKuchingcity.
Basedondiscussionswithturtleresearchers fromWWF-MalaysiaandUniversityMalaysiaTerengganu
(UMT)whichweremadeon25June2018inKuching,Sarawak,thesamemodusoperandiemployedby
poachersandtradersinSabahwereprevalentinSarawak.TheyalsoreportedthatthetownofSemantan
whichisconsideredtobeanactivetradinglocationforillegalwildlifeproducts,wasalsoknowntotrade
inmarineturtleproducts.Howeverduetotimeconstraintsthiscouldnotbevisitedintimeforthisstudy
butshouldbeconsideredforfuturesurveys.
Terengganu Basedoninterviewswithtraders,representativesofnon-governmentalconservationorganizations(e.g.
WWF-Malaysia) and researchers from local universities (i.e. UMT), trading hubs for turtle eggs are
consideredtobecentredwithinmajortownshipsofKualaTerengganu,KemamanandBesut.Turtleeggs
wereobservedopenlyforsaleinmarketswithmostofthetradeoccurringatPasarPayang,afamouswet
anddrymarketlocatedinthecentreofthestate’scapitalofKualaTerengganu(Photo5).Itwasobservedduringthesurveythateggsaresoldinthreecategoriesnamely‘fresh’whereeggshaveallegedlybeen
collected from local Terengganu beaches, ‘cooked’ where eggs have been boiled for immediate
consumption,and‘pickled’whichinvolveeggsthathadnotbeensoldandthereforepickledtoextendits
validity for consumption. The eggs were reportedly mainly sourced from nesting beaches around
Terengganu,ontheislandssuchasRedangandfromSabah.Sometradersinterviewedalsosaidthateggs
arebeingimportedfromotherstatesinPeninsularMalaysia,suchasKelantan,Pahang,andPerak(where
thetradeineggsisalsoconsideredlegal).Onetraderinterviewedrevealedthateggsthataresoldinbulk
areusually sourced fromSabahor imported fromneighbouring countries suchas thePhilippines and
Thailandwhichisagainstnationallaws.Theseeggsareimportedthroughvariousmeansincludingover
land,air,boatsandviapost.
Duringthemarketsurvey,atleastsevenvendorswereobservedsellinguptoanestimated1,000eggs
dailyatPasarPayanginKualaTerengganu,thelargestmarketinthestate.Generally,pricesofeggsranged
betweenfromMYR4–MYR6(USD1-1.50)peregg,dependingonthefreshnessoftheeggs,whichisslightly
higher than thosebeingoffered in Sabah. Although ‘buy-back’ schemesexist as administeredby the
52
DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia(DOFM),thepriceofferedaresignificantlylowerthanthemarketvalue,
atlessthanRM2(USD0.50)peregg.
Photo5ObservationsofturtleeggssoldinTerengganumarkets,Malaysia,in2018
Melaka AsurveyconductedinthemarketsaroundKlebangareaon2May2018didnotrevealanyopentrading
ofturtlesorturtleparts,includingturtleeggs.EngagementwitharepresentativeofWWF-Malaysia(who
hasbeenactiveinundertakingturtleconservationactivitiesinthestatesincethe1980sincollaboration
withtheDOFM),revealedthatthereisnocommercialtradeinturtlepartsorproductsinthestate.Rather
theconsumptionofturtleeggsismainlyconductedbylocalresidentsonanopportunisticbasis.
Giventhewidespreaddistributionofturtlenestingsites inMalaysia, it isnotsurprisingthattherehas
beenhistorically,andremainpresently,alocaldemandforturtlepartsorderivatives,withconsumption
of turtle eggs especially being considered a norm and having become part of a particular area’s or
community’scustomsandtraditions.
ItisdifficulttoascertainthetruestatusoftheturtletradeinMalaysia,ortoidentifyifthetradebehaviours
havechangedtoasignificantdegreecomparedtowhatitwasinpreviousyears.Furthermore,itisalso
53
difficulttogaugetheeffectivenessofanymeasuresimplementedtomitigateimpactsfromtradeactivities,
particularlyconsideringthereislimitedinformationavailableontheseactivitiesthemselves.
6.1.3 Viet Nam DataonseizuresaswellasresultsofmarketsurveysconductedbyconservationNGOshavedemonstrated
thatthedomesticandinternationaltradeinmarineturtleproductsisstillactiveinVietNamtoday.Itis
challengingtodeterminewhethertheoverall levelsofcurrenttradearedeclining,stableor increasing
duetothelackofcomprehensivedataonseizuresandreliableinvestigationoftraderoutes.
In2002,TRAFFICundertookastudy(TRAFFIC,2004)onmarineturtletradeinthecountry,atatimewhen
thetradeinmarineturtleswasstilllegal10.Thisstudyfound29,000marineturtleproductsforsalein22
provinces,mostofwhichwere for ornamental purposes. Productsof four species (Green,Hawksbill,
LoggerheadandLeatherbackTurtles)werefound, inwhichthemajorityofspecimensand/orproducts
weremadefromHawksbill(98.6%).
In2009,anotherTRAFFICstudyfoundthatonlytwospeciesofmarineturtlewereregularlyfoundintrade,
theHawksbillandGreenTurtles(Stiles,2009).ComparedtotheTRAFFIC2002survey,thenumbersof
outletsanditemsinHoChiMinhCityandHaNoidecreasedconsiderably.However,tradehadincreased
inotherplaces, includingHaLong,PhuQuoc,andHaTienwheremarine turtleproductswereopenly
purchasedregardlessoftheillegality.Thereportpointedouttheweaknessandineffectivenessoflaw
enforcementactivitiesintheseareas.In2016and2017,TRAFFICobserved163marineturtleproductson
themarketinVietNaminHanoi,HoChiMinh,NhaTrang,andHaLong(TRAFFIC,unpub.).Alltheproducts
weremadefromHawksbillTurtlesandincludedtrophies,bangles,combs,hairpins,andearrings.InJune
2018,72taxidermiedmarineturtlesofvariousspecieswereseizedinVungTauwhichwereondisplayat
a shell-craftshop11.
ItisapparentthatthetradeinmarineturtlesstillpersistsinVietNambutisbecominglessopen.Demand
plays a key role indriving trade. Domestically,meat andeggs are consumedas adelicacy andas an
aphrodisiac. WealthyVietnamesebelievethatburyingstuffedmarineturtles inthebasementoftheir
house brings luck, while wearing marine turtle products treats low blood pressure12. In addition to
domestic demand and consumption, demand from Chinese nationals is emerging13. According to the
ChineseEmbassyinVietNam,thenumberofChinesetouriststravellingtoVietNam,especiallytoNha
TrangandDaNang,hasrisentremendouslyoverthe lastfiveyears.SourcesfindthatChinesetourists
oftenbuywildlifeproductsincludingcombs,hairclipsmadeoftortoiseshell14.Violatorshaveclaimedthat
they export huge amounts of processed marine turtle products to wholesalers in China for local
consumption.However,furtherinvestigationisneededtoidentifyhowthistraderouteoperatesandwho
mightbeinvolved.
10ThetradeinmarineturtleproductswerelegalinVietNampriorto22
ndApril2002,sincethenmarineturtleshavebeenaprotectedspecies
andregulatedbyawiderangeoflegaldocuments,initiallytheGovernmentDecree48/2002/ND-CP.11https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20180607/police-seize-scores-of-taxidermied-endangered-turtles-in-southern-vietnam/46005.html
12http://cand.com.vn/Kinh-te/Can-ngan-chan-viec-khai-thac-mua-ban-rua-bien-o-cang-Sa-Ky-242443/;http://vov.vn/Print.aspx?id=289462;
http://www.baobariavungtau.com.vn/xa-hoi/201509/rua-bien-con-dao-dang-bi-san-bat-trai-phep-637374/
http://giadinh.net.vn/xa-hoi/hiem-hoa-tu-nhung-chuyen-san-rua-bien-20131211040426777.htm
http://suckhoedoisong.vn/bo-than-trang-duong-bang-vi-thuoc-tu-rua-n2652.html
13https://tuoitre.vn/tang-tru-hang-ngan-xac-rua-bien-de-che-tac-my-nghe-674781.htm;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ833NyihLM;
http://infonet.vn/rua-bien-con-dao-bi-san-bat-xe-thit-lam-mon-nhau-hot-post176839.info14http://gappingworld.com/trung-quoc-thua-nhan-gay-thiet-hai-cho-rua-bien-va-cac-rang-san-ho-tai-bien-dong/
54
Overtheyears,SaKyPort(BinhChauCommune,BinhSonDistrict,QuangNgaiProvince)hasremained
anactivemarket for the illegal trade inmarine turtles. Despitearrests, commercial trade formarine
turtlespersistsinthiscoastallocation.In2009,117marineturtlesweighing2tonneswereseizedwhen
aVietnamesemanintheAnHaivillageinBinhChauwastransportingthemfromhisvesseltohiscarfor
trade. Hedeclaredthathecaughttheturtles intheseaandwouldselltheturtles inBinhDinh,some
130kmawayfromBinhChau. However, further investigationrevealedthat thesemarineturtleswere
intendedtobesoldtowholesalersinNhaTrangandHoChiMinhCityforChinesetourists.InOctober
2013,94deadfrozenmarineturtleswereseizedfromavehicle. Thedriverdisclosedthatthesedead
turtleswerecollectedfromfishingvesselsinSaKyPortfordomestictrade.
ViolatorsthatwerearresteddeclaredthatfishermenoftenhuntmarineturtlesinVietNam’soceansorin
the oceans of other surrounding countries. In the past, fishermen used traditional boats and simple
fishing gear which could capture a single turtle per outing. Today, they fish in groups and equip
themselveswithlargeboatswithoutboardmotorshelpingthemtoaccessalargerrangetohuntagreater
numberofturtles.Somelocalpeoplesaidthatmiddlemenarewillingtosponsormodernequipmentand
boatsforfishermentousewhilehunting.Aliveordead,marineturtlesareprocessed(mainlystuffed)in
VietNambeforeexport. InNovember2015, customsdepartment inHaiAnPort,Hai Phongprovince
seizeda40ftcontainerofdriedturtlesandtortoiseshells.Theseproductswereillegallytransportedfrom
PortKlang(Malaysia)toVietNam.SomeVietnamesefishermenfromQuangNgaiandBinhDinhwere
sentencedtoprisoninthePhilippines15andMalaysiaforillegallycatchingmarineturtlesinthewatersof
thesecountries.Accordingtotheirtestimonies,mostofthemarineturtleswouldbesoldtobuyersfrom
Hainan,China(ChuandNguyen,2015).
6.2 Legal International Trade Transactions
An analysis of trade records from the CITES Trade Database was conducted to provide insights into
reportedtradetransactions.Therawdatawerecheckedforwhatmayhavebeenduplicatereporting,for
examplewherethereportedinformationappearedintwoormoreincidentswithidenticalinformation
onquantities,countries,sourceandpurposecodes.
BasedonCITESTradeData,therewereatleast6,200recordsinvolvingthegloballegaltradeofmarine
turtles,partsandderivativesbetween2000and2017. Of these,only116 records (or2%of the total
records)involvedIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam,withnoneoccurringin2016and2017.Atleast18
recordswereofinternationalimportsintoIndonesia(n=4),Malaysia(n=13)andVietNam(n=1)(Table20).Thisinvolvedmostlycarvings,reportedlyimportedmostlyforcommercialpurposes,aswellaslive
turtlesandspecimenswhichwerereportedlyforscientificpurposes.
15https://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/the-gioi/nguoi-viet-5-chau/philippines-bat-13-nguoi-viet-san-trom-rua-bien-2898560.html
55
Table20:Reportedimportsofmarineturtles,partsandderivativestoIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2000and2015basedonCITESTradeData
To From No.ofRecords Commodity ExporterReportedQuantity
ImporterReportedQuantity
Unit
Indonesia United
Kingdom
1 carvings 1
Netherlands 2 carvings 2
Singapore 1 shells 2
Malaysia United
Kingdom
9 carvings 11 3
Philippines 1 specimens 43 flasks
VietNam 1 specimens 60 flasks
Thailand 1 live 60
UnitedStates 1 carvings 1
VietNam France 1 carvings 2
Note:For13recordsthesourcecodewasreportedas‘O-pre-conventionspecimens’,followedbywild-caught(n=3),and‘U-unknown’and‘C-captive-bred’withonerecordeach.Inrelationtopurpose,10recordswerereportedascommercial(mostlyinvolvingGBwithoneinvolvingtheUS),3recordswerereportedas‘S-scientific’(involvingPH,VN,TH),3recordsreportedas‘Q-circus/travellingexhibition’(NLandFR)and2recordsreportedas‘P-personal’(involvingGBandSG).
A further 98 records, involved the export of marine turtle products from these three countries i.e.
Indonesia(n=23),Malaysia(n=22)andVietNam(n=53)(Table21).Theseexportswentto11countries(Australia,CzechRepublic,France,UnitedKingdom,Japan,Malaysia(whoimportedfromVietNam),the
Netherlands,NewZealand,Portugal,Singapore,andtheUnitedStates(US).TheUS(n=65)wasthemain
exportdestinationforallthreecountriesandgenerally involvedthegreatestdiversityofmarineturtle
productsexported.Quantity-wise,thelargesttransactioninvolved2,444liveHawksbillandGreenTurtles
importedbyUnitedKingdomintwoseparateshipmentsin2004.Malaysiareportedtheseasofwildorigin
forscientificpurposeswhereastheywerereportedasseizedbyUnitedKingdom.Fifty-eightpercentof
the 98 trade records involved specimens where the source was reported as “seized” by importing
countries,withthehighestnumbersexportedfromVietNam(n=35), followedbyMalaysia(n=12)and
Indonesia(n=10).
Table21:Reportedexportsofmarineturtles,partsandderivativesfromIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2000and2016basedonCITESTradeData
From ToNo.ofRecords Commodity
ImporterReportedQuantity
ExporterReportedQuantity
Unit
Indonesia Australia 1 specimens 106
Czech
Republic1 bodies 1
GreatBritain 2carapace 1
specimens 15 90
Japan 4specimens 0.117kg 50
skins 0.603kg 200
Netherlands 2carvings 1
shells 1
56
NewZealand 1 carapace 1
Singapore 1 specimens 20 flasks
UnitedStates 11
bodies 7
carvings 30
carapace 1
skins 1
specimens 10 210
shells 1
trophies 1
MalaysiaAustralia 7
specimens 123 198
eggs 314
live 198
GreatBritain 6
live 2444 2444
specimens 23 flasks
eggs 37
leather 1
NewZealand 2 derivatives 10+1.17kg
Poland 2derivatives 1
skulls 5
UnitedStates 6
carvings 1
eggs 1
derivatives 1 kg
specimens 79 flasks
skins 83
skulls 1
VietNam France 1 carvings 2 2
Japan 1 carvings 2
Malaysia 1 specimens 60 flasks
NewZealand 2carapace 1
derivatives 1
UnitedStates 48
bodies 62
carapace 5
carvings 28
shells 16
trophies 7
Note:n=57sourcecodereportedasseizedbytheimportingcountry,n=34as‘W-wild-caught’,andremainingn=5asD-AppIanimalbredforcommercialpurposes’,‘O-pre-conventionspecimens’and‘U-unknown’.Ofthese,for44recordsthepurposewaslistedas‘P-personal’(sourcesforallofthesewerereportedtobeseizedspecimens,mostlybytheUSfollowedbythreerecordsreportedbyNewZealand),4as‘T-commercial’and1as‘S-scientific’.Theremaining8records,hadnopurposelisted,butthesewereallreportedasseized.
Figure8providesabreakdownofcommoditiesexportedfromIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamincluding
quantitiesexportedforeachyear.Wherethepurposeoftheexportwasstated,themajoritywerefor
personaluse(67%)followedtoalesserextentbyscientificuse(19%)andcommercialuse(11%).Ofthe
traderecordsforcommercialuse,atleastfiveincidentsfrom2001-2006werereportedtobewild-sourced
(involvingwholespecimensandeggsfromIndonesiaandMalaysiathatwereimportedbytheUS,Australia
andtheCzechRepublic). Fourotherincidentsbetween2000-2010involvedimportrecordsbytheUS,
fromIndonesiaandVietNamofskinpieces,carvingsandbodies,thesourcesforwhichwerereportedas
“seized”.
57
Figure8:MarineturtlecommoditiesexportedfromIndonesia,MalaysiaandVietNambetween2000and2015basedonCITESTradeData
RecordsfromtheCITESTradeDatabaseindicatethat57ofthetradetransactionsthatcamefrom
Indonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamwerereportedtobeseizedspecimens.Allofthesewerereportedby
importingcountries–NewZealand,Poland,UnitedKingdom(UK)andtheUnitedStatesofAmerica(US).
Thesecouldhavebeenillegalinternationalshipmentsthatwereheadedtothecountriesfromthethree
SoutheastAsiancountries.ThehighestnumberoftransactionsoriginatedfromVietNam(n=35records,
headingtoNewZealandandtheUS),followedbyMalaysia(n=12records,headingtoNewZealand,
Poland,UKandtheUS)andfinallyIndonesia(n=10headingtoNewZealand,UKandtheUS).
Verificationofthisdatafromgovernmentagencies,intermsofunitsandspecimenstraded,isrequired
toconfirmifthesewereallindeedseizuresuponimport.
6.3 Illegal International Trade Theanalysisofrecentseizuresfrom2015-2018(seesection5.1)aswellasseizuresthatoccurredoutside
thatperiodprovidesevidenceofaconcerningtrendintheillegalinternationaltradeinmarineturtlesand
theirparts.Thissectiondrawsontheseexamplesto illustratethedynamicsofthetrade involvingkey
countries,particularlythoseintheAsiaregion.
6.3.1 Indonesia In2012,itwasreportedthattheinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtlesoutofIndonesiawasonthe
risenationwide largelytomeetdemandfromEastAsiancountries (IOSEA,2014). Thisappearstostill
persistwithrecentseizuredata(2015-August2018)revealingtheinternationaltradeinmarineturtles
fromIndonesiaheadingintoMalaysia,China,andVietNam.Chinawasimplicatedasadestinationcountry
inat leastsevencaseswith Indonesiaasthereportedorigin. Forexample, inJanuary2018,200kgof
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Quantity
bodies carapaces
carvings derivative(kg)
derivatives eggs
leatherproduct live
shells skins
skulls specimens(flasks)
specimens trophies
58
marineturtleshellswereinterceptedinMakassar,SulawesionroutetoChina(Anon,2018).Authorities
raidedahouseinMakkasar,Sulawesiandfoundtheitemspackedincardboardboxes.Thetwosuspects
arrestedreportedlysourcedtheproductsfromtheIndonesianprovinceofPapuawhichwasthenshipped
byboattoMakkasar.Therewereatleastfourcasesin2016,twoofwhichoccurredinIndonesia(Baliand
East Kalimantan) of seized shipments involving shells and31 livemarine turtles; and twooccurred in
Xiamen,FujianProvinceofChinaofshipmentsoriginatingfromJakartainvolvingonetaxidermiedmarine
turtleand33HawksbillTurtleshells.
In2013,WWFIndonesianotedtherisingsmugglingofmarineturtleeggsfromWestKalimantantothe
MalaysianstatesofSabahandSarawakwheretheyfetchedahigherprice,afterillegalsaleofeggsinthe
Serikinmarket,attheSarawak-WestKalimantanborder,wasreported(JakartaPost,2013).Therewere
atleastsevenseizuresofturtleeggsinKalimantanfrom2010to2015involvinganestimated31,500eggs
whichwerereportedlydestinedtoMalaysia(Mongabay,2016).Themostrecentcasewasof6,725eggs
whichwereseizedatSintetePortinWestKalimantanin2015whichwasonroutetoSarawak.
In January 2015, Vietnamese fishermen were caught in Indonesian waters off Papua with 50 dead
HawksbillTurtlesontheirboat. Unfortunately, illegalVietnamesepoaching inwaterswithintheCoral
Trianglehavebeennoted sinceat least the2000s (IOSEA,2014).Chinawouldappear tobe themain
sourceofdemandformarineturtleshells,liveandtaxidermiedproductsfromIndonesiawhileMalaysia
wouldappeartobethemainsourceofdemandforturtleeggs(IOSEA,2014).Thesesamefindingswere
alsonotedbyTRAFFICin2011basedonevidenceofseizurerecordsandmarketsurveysthatrevealeda
consistentillegaltraderoutefromtheCoralTriangleregionofSouth-eastAsia(mainlyIndonesia,Malaysia
andthePhilippines)tomainlandChina(Lametal,2012).Lametal.foundthatbetween2000and2008,over9180marineturtleproductswereseizedinEastAsiancountries(i.e.mainlandChina,HongKongSAR,
Taiwan,ProvinceofChinaandJapan)includingwholespecimens(2062turtles),craftedproducts(6161
pieces) and raw shell (789 scutes and 919 kg). Indonesiawas the countrymost frequently linked to
seizuresinthesecountrieswithatleast14incidentsnoted(Lametal.2012).
6.3.2 Malaysia MuchoftheillegalinternationaltraffickingofmarineturtlesinMalaysiahaslargelybeenattributedto
poachingbyforeignfishingfleets(mostlyChineseandVietnamese)concentratedinthewatersoffthe
westerncoastofSabahtomeetmarketdemandsinChinaandVietNam(Lametal.,2012;WWF-Malaysia
andSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018;Riskasetal.,2018).Previousseizuresandstudies(WWF-Malaysia
andSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018;IOSEA,2014)identifiedtheselocationshostthrivingturtlemarkets
offeringturtlemeatdishes,turtle-basedsouvenirs,andtraditionalmedicinemadeofturtleparts.Based
onrecentseizuredatafrom2015-May2018(seesection5.1),suchincidentsstilloccur.Therewereat
least10seizure incidents linking Indonesia,PhilippinesandVietNaminthe internationaltraffickingof
marineturtleswithMalaysia.MostofthesewereofturtleeggsfromPhilippinesintoMalaysia(atleast8
cases),wherebyshipmentswereseizedoffthecoastofSabah. Themostrecentoftheseoccurred in
2017,wheretwoshipmentsofover3000marineturtleeggswereseizedfromFilipinosinSabahwaters.
Therewasonlyoneincident,whichoccurredin2017,inwhichaFilipinovesselcarryingGreenTurtlemeat,
organsandshellswereseizedinMalaysianwatersreportedlyheadingbacktothePhilippines.VietNam
hasbeenlinkedtoMalaysiainatleastthreecases.Intwooftheseincidents,occurringinDecember2016
andAugust2017,VietnamesevesselscarryingmarineturtleswereseizedinMalaysianwatersamounting
to1400deadandliveturtles.Inthethirdincident,whichoccurredin2015,a4-ftcontainercontaining
thousandsofdeadmarinelifeincludingturtleswasseizedataportinHaiPhong,VietNamwithorigins
59
reportedasPeninsularMalaysia.Lastly,inOctober2017,anIndonesianvesselcarrying97kgofmarine
turtleshellswasseizedinSabahwaters.
According toa recent studybyWWF-Malaysia and theSabahWildlifeDepartment (2018), themodusoperandiforpoachingofmarineturtleshasseenashiftinrecentyearsthroughanincreaseininvolvement
of local community members. These local communities are paid to capture turtles which are then
collectedincentralizedlocationsforpackagingandsubsequentexporttoforeignmarkets,namelyChina,
VietNamandthePhilippines(WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018).Thereasonforthis
shiftisthoughttobeduetoincreasedmaritimesecuritymakingitdifficultforforeignvesselstodirectly
operateinMalaysianwaters(WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018).Poachingisfound
tocoincidewithpeakturtlenestingseasoninSabahwhichrunsfromMaytoAugustannually.Market
pricesofliveturtlescurrentlystandatRM300/kgforfreshmeat,RM100/kgfordriedmeat,RM2,000
forliveadultturtles,andRM1,300forlivejuveniles.Turtlesaretransferredfromthepoachinglocation
tothecollectioncentreaswholespecimensorasparts(e.g.scales,calipee,andplastron)(WWF-Malaysia
andSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018).
AccordingtoaninterviewconductedwiththeheadoflocalcouncilenforcementunitinSandakan,amayor
of a Philippine Island stated during a meeting that turtle eggs make up one of their major exports.
InterviewswithvarioussourcessuggestcertainbordertownsinMalaysiasuchasSerikininSarawak,and
potentiallySempornainSabah,arebeingusedastransithubsforinternationaltradeofturtlepartsand
derivativesfortheSoutheastAsianregion(WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment,2018;IOSEA,
2014).AsreportedinWWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment(2018),itissuspectedthatturtle
products are being collected in these towns before being packed and shipped to overseas markets,
particularlytomeetthedemandincertainpartsofChina.Areviewofpressclippingsofpreviousseizures
made inSabah’s jurisdictionshowsthatmanyof theturtleproductsseizedeitheroriginated fromthe
Philippines or Indonesia and are destined for export towards Viet Nam or China, these are mainly
consignmentswhicharetransferredbyboat.
6.3.3 Viet Nam PriortotheimplementationofDecree48/2002/ND-CPin2002,theinternationaltradeinmarineturtles
wasnotstrictlyprohibitedbyVietNamlaw,despiteVietNamhavingbecomeaPartytoCITESin1994.
Between1973and1985,VietNamwasknowntosupplymarine turtleproducts toHongKong,South
Korea,SingaporeandTaiwanProvinceofChina(TRAFFIC,2009).Initially,inthe1980s,theseweresourced
domesticallybutbythe1990s,HawksbillTurtleswerebeingsourcedfromCambodia.Bytheearly2000s,
whole Hawksbills originating inMalaysia and Indonesia were bought by Vietnamese fishermen from
foreign fishing vessels out at seawhile shellswere imported from Indonesia and Singapore (TRAFFIC
2004).ResearchbyTRAFFICin2002alsorevealedanactiveinternationaltradeinmarineturtleproducts,
mainlybekko,withmuchoftradebeingexportedfromVietNam.Thisresearchdisclosedaconsiderable
amountoflarge-scalewholesalemarineturtletradingtoforeigndealers.MostVietnamesedealersstated
thatmuchoftheirtradewasinternational(TRAFFIC,2004),comparedtowhatwaspreviouslythoughtto
bedominatedbydomestictrade(CRES,1994).Annuallyuntiltheearly2000s,hundredsofstuffedmarine
turtles in Ha Tien and Nha Trangwere exported to China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong
(TRAFFIC,2004).
In2014,Vietnameseauthoritiesseizedsome7,000deadmarineturtlesinNhaTrangfromawarehouse
andafarm. InJune2018,afternearlyfouryearsof investigation,theoffenderwassentencedtofour
60
yearsandsixmonths’imprisonmentbyNhaTrang’sPeopleCourt16.AccordingtoENV,theturtleswere
allegedlydestinedforChina,tobesoldastrophies.Basedonrecentseizuredatasince2015(seesection
5.1),atleast10incidentsshowthatVietNamfunctionsmainlyasadestinationcountryortransitcountry
intheillegaltraffickingofmarineturtlestoChina.AccordingtoWildAid(2018),between2013and2017,
there have been at least seven reported cases indicating cross-border trafficking of marine turtles
betweenChinaandVietNamatFangchenggang, aharborcityinthesouthwestofChina.Atotalof199taxidermiesand153livemarineturtles,mostofwhichwereidentifiedasHawksbillTurtleswereestimated
seizedinthesevencases.AsidefromChina,therewasatleastoneseizurein2017revealingthetrafficking
ofturtleshellsreportedlyfromHaitionroutetoVietNamwhichwasinterceptedatCharlesDeGaulle
Airport. Authorities seized almost half a ton of Hawksbill Turtle shells estimated to amount to 380
turtles17.AsrecentlyasMay2018,therewasabatchofHawksbillTurtleshellsthatwereseizedbyInterpol
reportedly on route to VietNam fromMiami18. No details howeverwere provided on exact seizure
location or quantities seized. Asmentioned above,Malaysia and Indonesia are also linked as source
countriesinthetraffickingofmarineturtleproductstoVietNam.
6.4 Conservation Impact and Management of Marine Turtles Conservation impacts of trade on marine turtle populations is challenging to quantify due to the
complexitiesofturtleecologyandthemultiplefactorsinfluencingturtlesurvivalrangingfromnaturalto
anthropogenicsources.However,thepresentstudyprovidesevidencethatpoachingandillegaltradedo
havesignificantadverseimpactsonturtlepopulationsintheregion,whichareatthesametimeaffected
bybycatch,habitatdestruction,pollutionandotherthreats.
6.4.1 Indonesia The Indonesianarchipelago,withover17,000 islandsandanestimatedcoastline lengthof54,716km
(amongthelongestintheworld),presentssignificantchallengestothosewhoaretaskedwithmonitoring
theturtletradeand/orenforcingthelaw.Thesheersizeofthearchipelago,over34provincesandeach
with their own mandates, differing capacities and jurisdictional issues increases problems of
communicationbetweenthevariousagenciesconcerned.ProvincialregulationsinIndonesiasometimes
arenotharmonisedwithnationalregulationsorlocalpractices.Forexample,insomeareas,traditionalor
customary rights are perceived to be stronger than national legislation, adding to the complexity of
enforcingnationallawsthatapplytomarineturtles.ThisisthecaseparticularlyaroundPadang,Sumatra,
whereeggsaresoldopenlyinlargequantities,orinBaliwhereturtlepartsandproductshavebeenpart
of the local culture. Further, a combination of literature review and feedback from stakeholder
engagement highlight that increasing human population and tourism, particularly along previously
isolatedstretchesofcoastline,combinedwithgreaterpublicmobility,areleadingtogreaterpressureson
formerlyundisturbednestingbeaches.
Ofgreaterconcernistherisingnumberof‘turtleattractions’,particularlyinBali,thathatchandkeeplive
turtles forpurelycommercialpurposes,butwith littleornoconservationvalue. Althoughall facilities
displayanofficiallicensefromtheIndonesianNatureConservationAgency(BKSDA)thatallowsthemto
operate legally, standardhatcheryprotocolsare largely ignored,as longas someof the turtleshatch.
Moneyismadefromcooperationwithlocalboatsthatbringthetouriststotheattractions,entrancefees,
donations,andvaryingamountstopayifavisitorwantstoreleaseacaptiveturtle(hatchlingsaremuch
16https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/wildlife-watch-hawksbill-sea-turtle-trafficker-sentenced-vietnam/
17https://www.rt.com/news/396753-smuggled-tortoiseshell-intercepted-france/
18https://www.interpol.int/layout/set/gallery/Media/Images/News/2018/2018-058/01-CANADA-vigilanti-retouches
61
cheapertoreleasethanadults).AlloftheattractionsvisiteddisplaythepermitsissuedbythelocalBKSDA,
ontheunderstandingthat theyprovidenecessary incomeforotherwisepoorcoastalcommunities. A
furtherproblemoccursafterliveturtlesoreggsareseizedbytheauthorities.Aswithmanyotherwildlife
species thatare seizedbyauthorities,well-run rescuecentresare in short supply (e.g.TheCikananga
Wildlife Rescue Centre in Java), and the issuance of licenses by local authorities to village groups
unfortunatelyprovideslittlemorethananopportunityforthemtomakemoneyoutofthedisplayand
paidreleases(andperhapsalsosecretsales)ofturtles,ratherthanhavinganyactualconservationvalue.
Additionally,itisfrequentlyveryimpracticalintermsofcostsandlogisticstoreleaseseizedanimals(which
mightalsobesick)backintothewild-particularlyintheiractualnativehabitat–inaccordancewithIUCN
Releaseprotocols(Eckertetal.,1999).Indeed,inthecaseofmarineturtlesreleasesofyoungturtlesthat
havebeenkeptincaptivityforlongperiodsmightarguablylessentheirchancesofsurvival,ratherthan
themhavingthebenefitsof‘headstarting,andbeingreleasedweeksormonthsafterhatching’(although
thisisgivenasjustification,bylocalpartiesconductingsuchreleases,forkeepingturtlesincaptivityfor
longerperiods).Releaseofsickturtlescouldalsoleadtothepossibilityofdiseasetransmissionintowild
turtlepopulations(Warwicketal.2013).
6.4.2 Malaysia Ingeneral,inMalaysia,conservationeffortwithregardstoturtleswerefocusedonnestingbeachesandnestingpopulationthatconsistsofonlyfemales.Beachesarepatrollednightlytofindeggsandcollect
data on nesting females. Eggs were then transferred for safe incubation in a hatchery (ex situ). The
collectionofdatamostlyfocusesonnestingpopulationwhereparameterssuchasnumberofnests,eggs,
hatchlingsreleased,hatchingrates,numberoffemaleturtlesviataggingsystemandmeasurements.To
thatend,theconservationfocushasbeenonmonitoringnestnumbersandnestingpopulation.However,
inrecentyears,studieshavebeenextendedtoidentifyingforaginggroundsandpopulationsviagenetic
analysesorsatellitetracking.
ThefirsthatcheryinPeninsularMalaysiawasbuiltatRantauAbang,Terengganuin1971.Sincethen,a
totalof20hatcheriesand6TurtleInformationandConservationCenterswereestablishedinPeninsular
Malaysia.ConservationofmarineturtlesinPeninsularMalaysiaisajointeffortwithvariousgovernment
agencies, university, non-government organisations and private sectors. The Department of Fisheries
Malaysia conducts conservation programmes, enforcements such as controlling fish net mesh sizes,
promotingtheuseofTurtleExcluderDevices(TED)andencouragingtheuseofcirclehooksinlong-line
fisheries.
TurtleconservationinSabahcanbedrawnbackasearlyas1927whenvariousnoticesrelatedtoturtle
conservationwere issuedby theNorthBorneoBritishCompanyand the stategovernment.Beginning
1977,thestategovernmentapprovedtheestablishmentofTurtleIslandsPark,whichformerlyknownas
TurtleFarmthatconsistsofthree important islands(Selingan,GulisanandBakunganKechil).Withthe
establishment of the park, turtles and their nesting beaches are fully protected and has resulted in
increasedofnesters,incubatedeggsandreleasedhatchlingintothesea.Turtleconservationatthepark
includedailybeachpatrolling,hatcheryprogrammes,researchactivitiesandeducationprogrammes.
HistoryofmarineturtlemanagementandconservationinSarawakcanbetracedbackasearlyas1600’s.
EggsfromSarawakwasusedasbartertradeitemswithtradersfromChinaasearlyasandinvolvedRoyals
incollectionofeggsin1839.In1998,themanagementandresearchonmarineturtlesofSarawakhave
beenundertakenbytheForestryDepartmentSarawak.In2003,whensomeoperationfunctionsofFDS
62
weretakenoverbytheSarawakForestryCorporationSdn.Bhd.(SFC).Themanagementofmarineturtles
andallwildlifeinSarawakfallunderjurisdictionoftheProtectedAreasandBiodiversityConservationUnit
(PABC)ofSFC.TheSarawakStateGovernmenttookasteptowardprotectingthecriticalhabitatofmarine
turtlesbygazettingtheSarawakTurtleIslandsastheTalang-SatangNationalPark.Turtleconservationat
thepark include introducing reefballs toovercome turtleby-catches,dailybeachpatrolling,hatchery
programmes,researchactivitiesandeducationprogrammes.
Nationally,themarineturtlemanagementofMalaysiaisguidedbythenationalplanofaction(NPOA)for
marineturtlemanagementpublishedin2008.Thereare16prioritiesand6objectives.TheNPOAlisted
the programmes for the year 2008 to 2013. The plan hadmulti-dimension approaches and involved
variousagenciesandstakeholdersformanagementofmarineturtlesbyreductionofdirectthreattothe
seaturtles;conservationandrehabilitationprogramforseaturtlehabitat; intensifiestheconservation
research for sea turtle; public awareness programme; public involvement and promotion of the
implementationoftheplan.TomonitortheimplementationoftheobjectivesoftheNPOAaresuccessfully
achieved, all programmesaremonitoredbya special task force calledasMalaysia TechnicalWorking
Groups forSeaTurtle (MTWGST).Thisplanended in2013andmostof theprogramandactivitiesare
alreadyimplementedaslistedintheNPOA.
Regionally, the significance of marine turtle populations gave rise to Malaysia’s recognition and
involvement in international commitments such as the Indian Ocean Southeast Asia (IOSEA)
Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their
HabitatsoftheIndianOceanandSouth-EastAsia(MoU),CoralTriangleInitiativeonCoralReefs,Fisheries
andFoodSecurity(CTI-CFF)andSulu-SulawesiMarineEcoregion(SSME)(Jolisetal.,2016).Inaddition,theTurtleIslandsHeritageProtectedArea(TIHPA),atransboundaryprotectedareaintheSuluSeawas
established in1996betweenSabahand thePhilippines to jointlymanage the large turtlepopulations
occurringthere.
Intermsofregulations,existing licensingsystemsregulatethecollectionofeggsof turtlespecies (see
section3.2.2),whileexisting laws inmostotherstatesdefinepenalties thatare too lowtoeffectively
deterpoachingactivities.SomeMalaysianstates(suchasPerlisandSelangor)stillhavenotadoptedany
legal protection for turtle populations present within their territories in the absence of a national
legislativeprovisionsonturtleconservation.Duetothelackofuniformityinlegislativeprovisionsacross
thecountry,therecurrentlyexistsalegalloopholewhichisbeingexploitedbyeggcollectorsandtraders.
Generally,theincreaseofturtlepopulationsinSabahandSarawakhasbeenattributedtothesuccessof
acompletetradebanonturtleeggsintheserespectivestates. Unfortunately,thetradebanonturtle
eggs incertainstatessuchasSabah isbeingcircumventedwithsalesof theseeggsundertakeneither
locallyortransportedtoareaswheresuchtradeis legal(e.g.Terengganu). Therefore,anextensionof
thesebansnationwideisrecommendedtoenableacohesiveenforcementmechanismtobeestablished
throughoutthecountry.Increasedmonitoringatgatewayssuchasairportsandjettiesinmajortownsin
Sabah, Sarawak, and east coast states of Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang is also recommended to
mitigatetradeinturtleparts,particularlyasithasbeenhighlightedthatalotofturtleproducts,especially
turtleeggs,arebeingtransferredthroughthesemajorgateways.
Furthermore,while‘buy-back’schemesmayhavebeeneffectiveinthepast,itappearstheireffectiveness
havereducedduetotheinefficienciesinimplementingtheschemeaswellastheoutdatedpriceoffered
notbeingalignedwithmarketconditions.Infact,allofthekeynestingbeachesinthestateofTerengganu
(whichhasthelargestnestingpopulationofgreenturtlesinPeninsularMalaysia)arenolongerunderthe
63
‘buyback’scheme.Insteadseasonalworkersarehiredtopatrolnestingbeachesandrelocateneststo
designatedhatcheriesforincubationinanefforttoreducethepoachingofeggs.The‘buy-back’scheme
isimplementedatbeacheswherenestingnumbershavenotreduced,largelyduetothelackofresources
tomonitorover40nestingbeachesinTerengganu.ThisisalsobeingpracticedinMelakawhichhasthe
secondlargestnestingpopulationofhawksbillturtlesafterSabah.Introductionofmoreprotectednesting
beachesandforagingareas,similartotheRantauAbangbeachinTerengganuandtheTurtleParkinSabah,
shouldalsobeundertakengiventhesuccessobservedonthesemeasuresinmitigatingpoachingofturtles
andturtleeggsintheseareas. SomeoftheareasofpriorityforprotectionincludebeachesinRedang
Island, Perhentian Island, Padang Kemunting, Kem Terendak, Tanjung Serai, Tanjung Dahan, Meriam
PatahandPulauUpeh(Melaka),andislandsintheKudatandSempornadistrictsinSabah.Nestingsin
Pulau Upeh in the last few years have declined by approximately 50% due to coastal
development/reclamation.MainnestingbeachesonRedangandPerhentianislandsweregazettedfor
turtleprotectionundertheNationalLandCodein2006and2007. However,nospecificprovisionsfor
turtlesanctuarieshavebeenoutlinedinthelegislation.
In Peninsular Malaysia, long-term nesting monitoring is in place at some key nesting beaches in
Terengganu and Melaka via tagging programme by the Department of Fisheries, Universiti Malaysia
Terengganu(SEATRU)andWWF-Malaysia.Awarenessactivitiesincludingreligioussermonswithfocuson
theyoungergenerationtoendthepracticeofeggconsumptionhavebeenconductedforyearsalongside
advocacyforanationalbanoneggtradeandconsumptionbylocaluniversitiesandNGOs.In2008,the
DepartmentofFisherieslaunchedtheNationalPlanofAction(NPOA)forConservationandManagement
of Sea Turtles which is closely aligned to the IOSEA Conservation and Management Plan. This
comprehensiveplanprioritises,amongothers,nationalbanoncommercialsaleofturtleeggsandforall
statestoharmoniserespectivelegislationonturtles.However,itisnotedthattheNPOAtermendedin
2016withnoprogressonharmonisingexistinglegislationsandcompletebanofeggtrade.
6.4.3 Viet Nam InVietNam,priorto2002,studiesdemonstratedthatthetradeinmarineturtleproductsinVietNam
wasthreateninglocalpopulations(CRES1994;DucandBroad1995;TRAFFIC2004;vanDijkandShepherd
2004). Since then VietNamhasmade strong commitments to addressing the issues ofmarine turtle
conservationbybecomingasignatorytoavarietyofglobalandregionalconventionsandtreaties.For
years, research and conservation activities have been ongoing coupledwith awareness raising,more
effectivelawenforcementandanationalactionplan.Questionsremainonhowthesecommitmentsare
beingimplementedandiftheyareeffectivelyaddressingthedeclineofmarineturtlepopulationsinViet
Nam.
Marineturtleconservationfacesmanyinstitutionalchallenges.Oneoftheurgentproblemsintermsof
the management of marine turtle conservation is the lack of clearly defined and divided roles and
responsibilities for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) or the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Theseministries are leading authorities in implementing
state management plans on conservation of protected endangered species including marine turtles,
whichworkwiththevariousrelevantagenciessuchascentralandlocallawenforcers,police,customs,
etc.,inproperlyfulfillingtheirresponsibilitieswithregardtoimplementingrelevantbiodiversity-related
laws. This contributes to the lack of comprehensive and effective inter-agency cooperation on
conservationofmarineturtles.Additionally,marineturtleconservationrequiresenhancedcooperation
andinformationsharingnotonlybetweenMARDandMONRE,butshouldalsoinvolveMinistryofPublic
Security,DirectorateofCustoms,marinepolice,PeopleSupremeCourt,andotherrelevantagencies.
64
Localauthoritiesincoastalprovincesandcitiesareattheheartofmarineturtleconservation.However,
thecurrentmanagementsystemforconservationofmarineturtlesdoesnot involvetheseauthorities
sufficiently, theneeds include:enhancedcooperationandcommunicationbetweennationaland local
authorities,strictmonitoringmechanisms,andknowledgesharingamongstcoastalprovincesandcities.
Additionally, limited budget, weak capacity and low access to effective guidance on measures and
solutionstoconservemarineturtlesaresomeofthechallengesfacinglocalauthorities.
Lawenforcementisreportedtobeineffectiveandmarineturtlescontinuetobecapturedandkilledin
coastalprovinces/citieswithoutanyproperpunishments.Thecapacityforeffectiveenforcementofthe
existinglegalsystemishinderedbyasignificantshortageofpersonneltrainedtoprovideexpertevidence,
detectviolationsandprosecuteoffenders. Insufficientmanpower,complexadministrativeprocedures,
corruptionandunderminepromptdetectionofoffences.
Weak judicialsystemsand lightsentencesallowthose involved inthis illegalactivitytokeeppoaching
marineturtleswithlittleregardtotheconsequences.Thesefactorsmakeillegaltradeinmarineturtlesa
lowriskbusinesswithhighreturnswhereasthetruemastermindsandtheirnetworksremainuntouched
andoperationalwiththeabilitytostrikeagain.
7 CONCLUDING REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Resultsfromcurrentfieldresearchindicatethatalthoughdataarescarce,theillegaltradeofmarineturtle
trade in Indonesia,MalaysiaandVietNamappears topersist,witheachcountryhaving itsowntrade
dynamic.Openavailabilityinphysicalmarketssurveyedwaslimitedduringthesurveyperiod,withonline
tradeappearingmoresignificantinIndonesiaandVietNamconsideringtheshortsurveyspan.Indonesia
remainsan importantsourcecountrysupplyingdemand foreggsandmeataswellas trade inmarine
turtleshells(eitherinprocessed–jewellery,souvenirs,taxidermiedorunprocessedforms–rawpieces).
Seizures further confirm that poaching, consumption and trade is prevalent across the Indonesian
archipelago including in Kalimantan, Java, Bali, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua. In Malaysia, the long
standingproblemoflocaldemandforturtleeggsinthestatesofSabahandTerengganuremainsactive,
andappearedtobeoccurringtoa lesserextent in thestateofSarawak. Resultsof this researchalso
suggeststhatanewtrademechanismhasdevelopedinthestateofSabah-tradersroamaroundtown
approachingpotentialbuyerscovertlythroughthe‘OK’sign,whichiscommonlyunderstoodtoreferto
availabilityofturtleeggsforsale,whichisbannedinSabah.Thiswasinresponsetostrongerenforcement
actionsparticularlyinSabah,whereconsumptionandtradeinmarineturtlesisstrictlyprohibited.InViet
Nam, local demand formarine turtlemeat exists andwhile trade inmarine turtleproductswere still
observed for sale in outlets surveyed, the open trade in bekko products seems to have reduced
significantlyincomparisontofindingsin2004.
Seizure analysis from January 2015 - June 2018 in the three countries also reveal the persistence of
internationaltraffickingofmarineturtleproductsintheAsianregion.Indonesia,MalaysiaandVietNam
playedacombinationofsource,consumerandtransitroles,withChinanotedasakeydestinationinmost
cases. Further, the trade of live turtles and turtle parts appears to be a growing concern in Sabah,
especiallytheincreasinginvolvementbylocalcommunitiestomeetforeignmarketdemands.
Thisstudyconfirmsthe illegaltradeofmarineturtlespersists in Indonesia,MalaysiaandVietnamand
identifiesthemainsourceandtradingcountriesaswellassomeofthechallengesinensuringubiquitous
65
banonmarineturtletradeanditsenforcement.Limitationsofthisstudyincludetherapidnatureofthe
research,whichpreventsamorecomprehensivequantificationoftradelevels,orcomparisonwithpast
studiesandaquantitativeassessmentoftheimpactonmarineturtlepopulations.However,considering
thatmarineturtlepopulationsaregloballyindecline,thethreatposedbycontinuedpoachingandillegal
tradeincombinationwiththemultipleotherthreatstheyface,willhavesignificantadverseimpactson
remainingturtlepopulationsinSoutheastAsia,ifallowedtopersist.Basedoninformationpresentedin
theprevioussections,thefollowingrecommendationsaremade:
7.1 Recommendations
• Streamliningpolicyandlegislativeprovisions,administrativecapacitiesandimplementationNon-harmonisedlawsandregulationspavethewayforviolatorstoexploitmanagementandprotection
measures. Urgently, a standardized legislative provision is required to close loopholes and improve
conservationofturtlepopulationsinMalaysia,particularlytoensureallStatesprohibitthedomestictrade
inturtlepartsandproducts.Thiswillpreventlaunderingofthemarineturtleeggtradeinthecountry,
betweenstatesthatprohibittradeandthosethatdonot.Furthermore,improvedenforcementofexisting
legislationtorestricttradeofturtlesandturtleproducts(forexamplebetweenstatesthatprohibittrade
and those that do not) is required in many jurisdictions across all three countries, including of the
respectiveNationalPlanofAction (NPOA)onMarineTurtles. MoreperiodicalupdatesonNPOAsare
necessary to keep track of changes and trends over time, update knowledge anddevelop preventive
measurestoimprovemanagementprovisionsandcurbillegaltrade.
Thestreamliningoflegalandregulatorypoliciesshouldalsoextendtotherolesofthevariousgovernment
agencies.Forexample,VietNam,shouldworktoidentifyandclarifytherolesforthetwokeyagencies-
MARDandMONRE-inimplementingstatemanagementplansonconservationofprotectedendangered
speciesincludingmarineturtlesandtosupportthevariousrelevantagenciesinproperlyfulfillingtheir
responsibilities. These can be resolved through national-level engagement, including in line with the
country’sNPOAprocess.
• Monitoring,investigations,lawenforcementandimprovedgatewayprotectionImprovedmonitoring,detectionandlawenforcementisrequiredinthemarketplace,andparticularlyin
maritimeareasinvolvingfishingvesselsandseaports.InMalaysia,morestrictmechanismsformonitoring
andregulatingandtakingactiononillegaltrade,particularlyturtleeggs,throughmajorairportsisrequired,
particularlythoseflyingoutofSabahandSarawakinEastMalaysiatowardsKualaLumpurandeastcoast
cities of Kota Bharu (Kelantan), Kuala Terengganu (Terengganu), and Kuantan (Pahang). Similarly, in
Indonesia,astradeappearstobeoperatingonamorecovertnaturetofeedbothlocalandinternational
demand,monitoringandinvestigationswillbekey.Continuedmonitoringandidentificationisneeded,
beyondthose identified tobehotpots fromresearchand investigationsover thepastdecades,ofkey
traderoutesused,volumes,and ‘hot-spots’ fortradeaswellaspromoting informationsharingonthe
illegal international trade, suchas smugglingmethodsand trade flows, amongcountries thathavean
activetraderelationshipregardingmarineturtles.
Longer-termmonitoringoftradetrendsanddynamicsinkeylocationsandcountries,includingthosenot
coveredunderthisstudy,shouldbeconducted.Suchstudieswouldenableamoreholisticunderstanding
ofthemarineturtletradeintheregion.Studiesshouldalsobeconsideredtobeundertakenatopportune
66
moments,includingturtlenestingseasonstodetermineifseasonalityimpactstradepatterns,asrelevant
comparisonswithpaststudiestodeterminetrendsovertime.
Persistent illegal trade, as demonstrated by seizures, reinforces the need for improvements on
enforcementinallthreecountries.Amajorityofseizuresarecurrentlymadethroughauthorizedraidson
marketsoropportunisticarrestsmadeduringmaritimepatrols. Theseshouldcontinuetodeter illegal
imports and exports of turtles and their products across the three countries (at provincial/state) and
national level), as well as in collaboration with neighbouring countries in the region. Forensics DNA
analysisof seizedspecimensshouldbeconducted todeterminespecies involvedand/populationsof
origin.Internationalcooperationisimportantasresearchhasshownthatillegaltradeoccursnotonlyto
meetdomesticdemandbutalsotocatertointernationalmarkets.
Atlocalandnationallevels,investigationsintotheplayersinvolvedinthepoachingandtradeofmarine
turtles and their parts, including the identification of collectors, illegal harvesters, middlemen,
transportationandlogisticscompaniesandtraders,iscritical.Asopenavailabilityofmarineturtleparts
andproductsreduces(duetolegislativeprohibitions)andtrademovesunderground,thisbecomesmore
imperative.Withoutinvestigationsintopartiesinvolvedalongthetradechain,leadingtothearrestand
successfulprosecutionandconvictionofviolators,thisproblemwillperpetuatetothedetrimentofwild
turtlepopulations.Todo thiseffectively, support to regulatoryagencies is important,given that their
capacities tomanage the complicated issueof international turtle tradeare limited to resources (e.g.
fundsandmanpower)thataresharedtoaddressotherissuesorpriorities.
PursuanttotheCITESNotification009thatwasissuedin201819,Partiesareurgedtoprepareandsubmit
an account of annual illegal trade reporting. The CITESNotification calls a comprehensive account of
actionsandoutcomesofseizureandprosecutionthatisreportedtotheCITESSecretariatonanannual
basis.Anaccuratelevelofreportingonlawenforcementactionsandoutcomesiscrucial,byallcountries
implicatedinthistrade,tounderstandthetradepatternsandscalethatwouldcontributetowardslaw
enforcementefforts.
• Educationandawareness-raisingGiven thevaryingdynamicof the trade that isboth legaland illegal,educationandawareness-raising
amongkeyplayers(suchaslocalcommunities,fishermen,tradersandconsumers)inanefforttoreduce
marineturtletradeandconsumptionis important,highlightingdetrimental impactstothespeciesand
theenvironment.Activitiesshouldnotonlyfocusontheecologicalimpactsfrompoachingandtradeof
marineturtles,butalsoonthepotentialhealthimpactsfromconsumptionofproducts,suchasturtleeggs.
Additionally,anawareness-raisingcampaignshouldbeundertakenfocusingonlocalcommunitiesknown
orsuspectedtobeinvolvedinturtlepoachingactivities,toinformthemoftheimpactsoftheiractivities
totheturtlepopulationsaswellastheunsustainabilityofthepracticefortheirownlivelihoods,inaddition
toimplicationsforviolatinglaws.Theseactivitiescouldalsoserveasastartingpointindevelopingmore
targeted researchand initiativesdesigned to reduceconsumptionandchangingbehaviour in the long
term.
• EnhancedregionalcooperationGiven the clear regional links involved in the trade, as demonstrated by seizures, strengthened and
coordinated regional approach to mitigating trade of turtles, their parts and derivatives, is urgently
19https://cites.org/sites/default/files/notif/E-Notif-2018-009.pdf
67
required.ImprovedcooperationbetweenIndonesia,Malaysia,andVietNam(aswellasthePhilippines,
that is also an important country involved and / implicated in the marine turtle trade) is required
particularlyasthesecountriesappeartoshareacommonturtletraderoute.Regionalcooperationisalso
importanttoidentifyandstemillegaltradeflowsfromwithinSoutheastAsiatoEastAsiandestination
countries and territories (mainland China, Taiwan Province of China,Hong Kong SAR and Japan). The
IOSEAMarineTurtlesMOUprovidesamechanismforcooperationonaregionallevel.Atitslatestmeeting
ofSignatoriesin2014,the35SignatoryStatesincludingbothsourceandconsumercountriesidentified
above, such as Indonesia, Malaysia ,Vietnam, Philipines, the US, France and others, the Signatories
establishedanillegaltradeworkinggroup,whichistaskedwithraisingtheawarenessandstrengthening
politicaldialogueonthisissue.Additionally,regionalcooperationoncounteringillegaltradeshouldbe
enhanced under other existing cooperationmechanisms, such as the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations(ASEAN)umbrellaortheCoralTriangleInitiative.Closecollaborationandexchangeofactionable
intelligenceregardingillegalharvestandtradeofmarineturtlesandtheirproductsshouldbepromoted
betweenandwithinSoutheastandEastAsia.
Capacity building and joint information sharing platforms should be encouraged and implemented
between SoutheastAsian and EastAsian countries, to update current knowledge and information on
marine turtle trade patterns. This should also include training pertaining to the implementation and
enforcementofnationallegislationsandinternationalcommitments.
• SourcesitemanagementandprotectionCoastal provinces/citieswheremarine turtles are nesting and foraging are advised to implement the
following practices and cross-cutting solutions including: establishing comprehensive management
policiesandregulationstoprotectcoastalareasand/or islandsfornestingandforagingmarineturtles
intoannuallyprovincial/cityeconomicandtourismdevelopmentalstrategy;establishno-entryand/orno-
catch zones in some special areas restricting human presence and activities to protect nesting and
foragingfemales;developprovincialmonitoringmechanismincollaborationwithmarinepoliceandother
related organizations to combat illegal hunting, and collection of eggs and nesting females; develop
programs/projects providing sustainably alternative livelihoods to diversify income sources for local
communities;developsandprotectionprogramstoreduceimpactsofover-exploitationtotheusefulness
ofsandformarineturtle’slayingeggs.
• AssessmentandmanagementofturtleattractionsitesThroughouttheregion,captivefacilitiesthatmanageturtlehatcheriesandthoseusedastourist
attractionsshouldbebetterassessedandmonitored.Insomecases,thesefacilitieshavelittle
conservationvalue.Robustinterrogationofthesefacilities,andanassessmentoftheirregulationand
practicesisneededtoensurethatthesefacilitiesdonotundermineconservationefforts,orfacilitate
thelaunderingofwildcaughtturtlesortheirpartsintotrade.
68
8 REFERENCES
Aikin,A.(1840).Onhornandtortoiseshell.JournaloftheFranklinInstitute30:256–63.Anon.(2018).Chinesetraffickersarrestedfortryingtosmuggle200kgofturtleshellsinIndonesia.The
StraitsTimes(Singapore).1Feb:https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/chinese-traffickers-
arrested-for-trafficking-200kg-of-turtle-shells-in-indonesia
Barr(2001).CurrentStatusofTradeandLegalProtectionforSeaTurtlesinIndonesia.GreenpeaceInternational.MarineTurtleNewsletter54:4-7.
Campbell,L.M.(2002).ScienceandSustainableUse:viewsofmarineturtleconservationexperts.
EcologicalApplications,12(4),pp.1229–12462.EcologicalSocietyofAmerica.UnitedStates.
Canin,J.(1991).InternationaltradeaspectsoftheJapanesehawksbillshell(‘Bekko’)industry.Marine
TurtleNewsletter.54:17-21.
Chan,(2006).MarineturtlesinMalaysia:Onthevergeofextinction?AquaticEcosystemHealthand
Management,9(2):175-184,2006.TaylorandFrancisGroup.
Chan,E.H.andLiew,H.C.(1996).DeclineoftheleatherbackpopulationinTerengganu,Malaysia,1956-1995.ChelonianConservationandBiology.2(2):196-203.
CITES.(2016a).Speciesspecificmatters:HawksbillTurtle(Eretmochelysimbricata).CoP17Doc.59.
SeventeenthmeetingoftheConferenceofthePartiesJohannesburg(SouthAfrica),24September
-5October2016.Gland,Switzerland.
https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/17/WorkingDocs/E-CoP17-59.pdf
CITES.(2016b).Areportonillegaltakeofandtradeinmarineturtles.SC66Inf.7.Sixty-sixthmeetingof
theStandingCommitteeGeneva(Switzerland),11-15January2016.Gland,Switzerland.
https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/sc/66/Inf/E-SC66-Inf-07.pdf
Chu,T.C.andNguyen,T.D.(2015).SeaTurtlesinVietnam:ontheedgeofextinction.JournalofLifeSciences9:356-361.
http://www.davidpublisher.org/Public/uploads/Contribute/56b453c376cc9.pdf
CRES[CentreforNaturalResourcesandEnvironmentalStudies,UniversityofHaNoi,VietNam].(1994).
InvestigationofTradeinHawksbillTurtlesinVietNam.TRAFFICSoutheastAsiaFieldReport,No.7
DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia.(2008).NationalPlanofActiononforconservationandmanagementofmarineturtles.DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia.KualaLumpur,Malaysia.
Dethmers,K.E.M.andBaxter,P.W.J.(2011).Extinctionriskanalysisofexploitedgreenturtlestocksin
theIndo-Pacific.AnimalConservation14(2):140-150.Eckert,K.L.,etal.(eds.)(1999).ResearchandManagementTechniquesfortheConservationofSea
Turtles.IUCN/SSCMarineTurtleSpecialistGroupPublication.Vol.4,WashingtonDC,United
States.
Ezekiel,A.(2018).AreviewofmarinewildlifeprotectionlegislationinASEAN.TRAFFIC.PetalingJaya,Malaysia.
Firliansyah,E.,Kusrini,M.D.andSunkar,A.(2017).PemanfaatandanEfektivitasKegiatanPenangkaran
PenyudiBalibagiKonservasiPenyu.JournalofTropicalBiodiversityandBiotechnologyVol.2(2017):21—27.
Groombridge,B.andLuxmooreR.(1989).TheGreenTurtleandHawksbill(Reptilia:Cheloniidae):WorldStatus,ExploitationandTrade.CITES,Lausanne,Switzerland.
Hainshwang,T.,andLeggio,L.(2006).Thecharacterizationoftortoiseshellanditsimitations.Gems
Gemology.42(1):36-52.
Hamann,M.andChu,T.C.(2003).BaselinesurveyofmarineturtleabundanceanddistributionintheSocialistRepublicofVietNam.IUCN-VietNam,HaNoi.
69
Hamann,M.,Cuong,C.T.,Hong,N.D.,Thuoc,P.,andThuhien,B.T.(2006).Distributionandabundanceof
marineturtlesintheSocialistRepublicofVietNam.BiodiversityandConservation15,3703-3720.InstituteofMarineEnvironmentandResources(IMER)(VietnamAcademyofScienceandTechnology)
(2017).Technicalreportonstatusofhawksbill(Eretmochelysimbricate)andleatherback(Dermochelyscoriacea)turtlesandtheirhabitatinnorthandnorthcentralinVietnam.IMER.
IOSEAFeature.(2008).South-EastSulawesisuppliespoachedturtlestoBali.28February:
www.ioseaturtles.org/feature_detail.php?id=232
IOSEA.(2014).IllegaltakeandtradeofmarineturtlesintheIOSEAregion.MT-IOSEA/SS.7/Doc.10.1
Agendaitem8c.SeventhMeetingoftheSignatoryStates,Bonn,Germany,8-11September2014.
Isnain,I.,Michael,E.&Nasri,J.(2016).StatusofseaturtleconservationandmanagementinSabah.In:Joseph,J.,(Ed).2016.SeaTurtleConservationinMalaysia.Teranggganu,Malaysia:Penerbit
Universiti.Pp.35-39.
IUCN.(2002/2003).ConservationStatusReport:MarineturtlesandtheirhabitatsinVietnam.Ministryof
FisheriesandIUCN.VietNam.http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/marine_turtle_report.pdf
JakartaPost(2013).Seaturtleeggsmugglingrise.Onlineat
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/08/sea-turtle-egg-smuggling-rise.html
Jansen,A.(2009).ShiftingFocus:RedefiningtheGoalsofSeaTurtleConsumptionandProtectioninBali.IndependentStudyProject(ISP)Collection.Paper753.
http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/753
Joseph,J.(2017).Marineturtlelanding,hatchingandpredationinTurtleIslandsPark(TIP),Sabah,Malaysia.Finalreport:CoastalandmarineresourcesmanagementintheCoralTriangle-Southeast
Asia(TA7813-REG).
Kemf,E.,Groombridge,B.,Abreu,A.andWilson,A.(2000).MarineTurtlesintheWild–2000-AWWF
SpeciesStatusReport.WWF-WorldWideFundforNature,Gland,Switzerland.40pp.
Kinch,J.,Burgess,E.A.(2009).AnassessmentofthetradeinhawksbillturtlesinPapuaNewGuinea.TRAFFICBulletin.22(2):62-72.Cambridge,UnitedKingdom.
Langenheim,J.(2017).Balineseritualsfuelspikeintraffickingofendangeredseaturtles.Mongabay.4
May:https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/balinese-rituals-fuel-spike-in-trafficking-of-
endangered-sea-turtles/
Lam,T.,XuLing,Takahashi,S.,andBurgess,E.A.(2012).MarketForces:AnExaminationofMarineTurtleTradeinChinaandJapan.TRAFFICEastAsia,HongKong.
Duc,L.DandBroad,S.(1995).ExploitationofHawksbillTurtlesinVietNam.TRAFFICBulletin15(2),77.
Cambridge,UnitedKingdom.
Liew,H.C.(2011).TragedyoftheMalaysianleatherbackpopulation:Whatwentwrong.In:Dutton,P.H.,Squires,D.andAhmed.2011.ConservationofPacificSeaTurtlesnordotheUniversityofHawai’i
Press.
Limpus,C.J.andMiller,J.D.(1990).Theuseofmeasuredscutesofhawksbillturtles,Eretmochelysimbricata,inthemanagementofthetortoiseshell(bekko)trade.AustralianWildlifeResearch
17:633-639.
McLellan,E.Nickson,A.andBenn,J.(2005).MarineturtleconservationintheAsiaPacificRegion,WWF
International.Gland,Switzerland.
Martin,E.B.(1992).ObservationsonwildlifetradeinVietNam.TRAFFICBulletin13(2),61-67.Cambridge,UnitedKingdom.
Meylan,A.B.andDonnelly,M.(1999).StatusJustificationforlistingtheHawksbillTurtle(Eretmochelysimbricata)asCriticallyEndangeredonthe1996IUCNRedListofThreatenedAnimals.ChelonianConservationandBiology3(2):200-224.
70
Milliken,T.andH.Tokunaga.1987.TheJapaneseSeaTurtleTrade1970-1986.ASpecialReportprepared
byTRAFFIC(Japan)fortheCenterforEnvironmentalEducation,WashingtonD.C.171pp.
Mongabay.(2016).Lagi500telurpenyuasalkepulauanRiaudijualdiPontianak.Onlineathttps://www.mongabay.co.id/2016/07/31/lagi-500-telur-penyu-asal-kepulauan-riau-dijual-di-
pontianak/.
PhamThuoc(2003).Statusofresearch,conservationandmanagementofmarineturtleresourcesinVietnamesewaters.In:SchäubleC.andBuiThiThuHien(eds),ProceedingsofVietnam’sFirst
NationalWorkshoponMarineTurtleConservation,2001.Hanoi,Vietnam.IUCN–TheWorld
ConservationUnion,Vietnam.
Pilcher,N.andGhazallyIsmail(Eds)(2000).SeaTurtlesoftheIndo-Pacific:Research,ManagementandConservation.ASEANAcademicPress,London,UK.361pp.
Profauna.(2003)HawksbilltradeinIndonesia.Profauna.Indonesia.http://www.profauna.net/sites/default/files/downloads/publication-2003-hawksbill-trade-in-
indonesia.pdf.
ProFauna.(2007).AnnualReport2007.http://www.profauna.org/download/report/profauna-annual-
report-2007.pdf.
Profauna.(2010).ThetradeofseaturtleeggsinKalimantan.Profauna.Indonesia.http://www.hsi.org.au/editor/assets/Final%20report%20on%20turtle%20egg%20trade%20in%20
Kalimantan%202010.pdf.
Profauna.(2015).PerdaganganSouvenirBerbahanPenyuSisikMeningkat.Onlineathttps://kaltim.antaranews.com/berita/26848/profauna-perdagangan-souvenir-berbahan-penyu-
sisik-meningkat.
Profauna.(2016).OfficialsSeizedHundredsofSeaTurtleShell-basedSouvenirsfromMarketinBerau,EastKalimantan.(Onlinearticle).17October:https://www.profauna.net/en/content/officials-seized-hundreds-sea-turtle-shell-based-souvenirs-market-berau-east-kalimantan#.WzcxbLaB1bV
Riskas,K.A.,Tobin,R.C.,Fuentes,M.M.,&Hamann,M.(2018).EvaluatingthethreatofIUUfishing
toseaturtlesintheIndianOceanandSoutheastAsiausingexpertelicitation.Biological
Conservation,217,232-239
Nuwer,R.(2016).HugeHaulofSlainSeaTurtlesTestsVietnam.NationalGeographic.(onlinearticle).5
August:https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/wildlife-trafficking-sea-turtles-raid-
vietnam/
MohdSalleh,S.MohdShah,S.A.andChowdhury,A.J.K.(2018).AssessingNestingStatusofGreenTurtles,CheloniaMydasinPerak,Malaysia.TropicalLifeSciencesResearch,29(1),155–171,2018.http://www.tlsr.usm.my/tlsr29012018/29012018_11.pdf
Moss,S.andVanDerWal,M.(1998).RapeandRuninMaluku:ExploitationofLivingMarineResourcesinEasternIndonesia.Cakalele.Vol.9,No.2:85–97.Netherlands.
Sandilyan,S.andVinoth,S.(2013).Conservationofmarineturtle-onturtlespeedintheeastcoastofTamilnadu,SouthernIndia.InternationalJournalofPureandAppliedZoology.Volume1(2):132-
144.India.
Suarez,M.andStarbird,C.(1995).ATraditionalFisheryofLeatherbackTurtlesinMaluku,Indonesia.
MarineTurtleNewsletter68:15-18Stiles,D.(2009).TheMarineTurtleProductTradeinVietNam.TRAFFICSoutheastAsia.
Tiba,A.(2013).InBali,acampaigntoraiseecologicalawareness.KhabarSoutheastAsia(inIOSEA).29July:http://www.ioseaturtles.org/headline_detail.php?id=3558
Teh,L.S.L.,The,L.C.L.andJolis,G.(2018).Aneconomicapproachtomarinemegafaunaconservationinthecoraltriangle:MarineturtlesinSabah,Malaysia.MarinePolicy89(2018)1–10.Sabah,
Malaysia.
71
TRAFFIC.(2004).ThetradeinmarineturtleproductsinVietNam.TRAFFICSoutheastAsia–Indochina,
HaNoi,56pp.
TRAFFICSoutheastAsia.(2009).SurveyofMarineTurtleEggConsumptionandTradeinMalaysiaReport.WWF-Malaysia,March2009.
TRAFFIC.(2009).ApreliminaryreportofthenatureandscaleofdomesticandinternationaltradeinmarineturtlesinIndonesia:unpublishedreport.TRAFFICSoutheastAsia.KualaLumpur,Malaysia.
TroëngS.andDrews,C.(2004).Moneytalks:Economicaspectsofmarineturtleuseandconservation.WWF-International,Gland,Switzerland.
vanDijk,P.andShepherd,C.R.(2004).Shelledout?ASnapshotofBekkoTradeinSelectedLocationsinSouth-eastAsia.TRAFFICSoutheastAsia.PetalingJaya,Malaysia.
Warwick,C.,Arena,P.C.andSteedman,C.(2013).Healthimplicationsassociatedwithexposureto
farmedandwildseaturtles.JournaloftheRoyalSocietyofMedicine.Vol4(1):8WildAid.(2018).SeaTurtles–anuncertainfuture.Onlineathttps://wildaid.org/wp-
content/uploads/2018/05/SeaTurtleReport.pdf.
WWF(2011).TowardstheAdoptionofCircleHookstoReduceFisheriesBycatchintheCoralTriangleRegion.WWF-IndonesiaObserverProgramme.Indonesia.
WWF-Malaysia.(2011).WWFurgesstategovernmenttocarryoutinvestigationsintooriginsofturtleeggssoldinTerengganu.WWFPressRelease.3August:http://www.wwf.org.my/?12960/WWF-
Urges-State-Government-To-Carry-Out-Investigation-Into-Origins-Of-Turtle-Eggs-Sold-In-
Terengganu
WWF-MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment.(2018).PerdagangantelurdanpemburuanpenyudiSabah,Malaysia(ThehuntingofturtlesandthetradeintheireggsinSabah,Malaysia).WWF
MalaysiaandSabahWildlifeDepartment.Sabah,Malaysia.
72
ANNEX I: NESTING AND FORAGING GROUNDS IN MALAYSIA
Out of seven extantmarine turtle species, four can be found inMalaysia. They are the green turtle
(Cheloniamydas),hawksbillturtle(Eretmochelysimbricata),oliveRidleyturtle(Lepidochelysolivacea)andleatherbackturtle(Dermochelyscoriacea)(Chan,2006).
NestingdistributionThe leatherback nests primarily on the mainland beaches of the Terengganu state. For the green,
importantnestingbeachesoccurintheSabah‘sTurtleIslandsParkandSarawak’sTalang-SatangNational
Park.OthernestingbeachesareinTerengganu,Pahang,PerakstatesandSipadanIslandParkinthestate
ofSabah.TherearetwoimportantnestingbeachesfortheHawksbillTurtle,whichareintheTurtleIslands
ParkinthestateofSabah,andinthestateofMelaka.OtherpopulationscanbefoundinTerengganu,
Johorandelsewhere.ThenestingstatusoftheoliveRidleyturtleisfragmentary,withnestingsreported
intheSarawakTurtleIslandsPark,Penang,TerengganuandKelantan(Chan,2006).
Figure9:KeynestingsitesofmarineturtlesinMalaysia
Source:WWF-Malaysia
NestingabundanceandtrendsExceptforthegreenturtlepopulationintheSabah’sTurtleIslandsPark,mostnestingtrendsareindecline
(Chan,2006).Generally,theleatherbackturtlepopulationisnowconsideredaslocallyextinct,theolive
Ridleyisonthevergeofextinction,whilethegreenandhawksbillturtlesarestrugglingtosurvive(Chan,
2006;Joseph,2017).
InTerengganu,thedeclinesareshownintheleatherbacks,hawksbillsandoliveRidleys.Availablerecords
haveshownthattheleatherbackturtlepopulationhasdroppedfrom10,000annualnestingsintheearly
1950’stolessthanadozeninpresentyears(ChanandLiew,1996,Chan,2006).Thelastrecordednests
ofleatherbackturtlesinTerengganuwasin2010andnonestinghasbeenrecordedsince(AbdulKarim,
2016;SyedKadir,2016).AccordingtoChan(2006),thegreenturtlepopulationsinTerengganuhavenot
beenmonitoredsufficientlytoprovideaclearpictureofthenestingtrends,anecdotalevidencesuggests
declinesofover80%,nonethelessanecdotalevidencealsoindicatestherehasbeenanincreaseofnest
numbersinrecentyears.Currentnestingdensityaverages2,000peryear.
73
In SarawakTalang-SatangNational Park, nesting trends in the green turtles appear tobe stable,with
currently2,000or3,000nestingsoccurringperyear(Chan,2006).However,intheearly50’s,nestingsof
over20,000peryearwererecorded,indicatingadeclineofover90%(Tisen&Bali,2000;Balietal.,2016).
ThegreenturtlepopulationoftheSabah’sTurtleIslandsParkshowsignsofpopulationrecoverywiththe
currentdensitiesofover8,000nestingsperyear(Chan,2006;Isnainetal.,2016;Joseph,2017).However,thehawksbillturtlepopulationinSabahTurtleIslandsshowsgradualdecreasingtrend(Isnainetal.,2016;
Joseph,2017).Currently,nestingdensityrangesfrom400to500peryear(Chan,2006).
Generally,thenestingseasonofleatherbackturtlesisfromMarchtoSeptemberwithMaytoJulybeing
thepeakperiod.ThepeakmonthforhawksbillturtleoccursfromMaytoJuly,whilethepeakmonthsfor
oliveRidleyturtlesingeneralisbetweenFebruarytoMay(DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia,2008).In
SabahTurtle Islands,nestingsoccur throughout theyearand thepeakmonthsareMay toAugust for
greenturtleswhilehawksbillnestingsoccurthroughouttheyearwithpeakmonthsfromFebruarytoApril
(Joseph,2017).
ForaginggroundsThegreenturtles inMalaysiaundergolong-distancemigrationsfromtheirnestingbeachestoforaging
groundsandviceversa.Luschietal.(1996)andDeMerweetal.(2009)revealedlong-distancemigrations
ofnestinggreenturtlesinMalaysia.Inaddition,geneticstudiesbyDethmersetal.(2006),Jensenetal.(2016)andJoseph&Nishizawa(2016)haveshownthatthematuredgreenturtlesinMalaysiareturnto
their natal nesting beaches from their foraging grounds to reproduce. In Malaysia, a few important
foraginggroundshavebeenidentified,suchasBruneiBayandSipadanIslandPark,bothinthestateof
Sabah.Throughgeneticmixed-stockanalyses, Josephetal. (2016) foundthatgreenturtlesoriginatingfromSabahTurtleIslandsandotherareasintheSuluSeamigratetoBruneiBay.
CleargeneticdifferenceshavebeenobservedbetweenhawksbillturtlesinSabah’sTurtleIslandParkand
inotherrookeriesinMalaysia(Nishizawaetal.,2016)indicatinganatalphilopatryofhawksbillturtlesintheregion.Mixed-stockanalysisofhawksbillsamplescollectedfromforaginggroundsinMalaysiashows
thepresenceofmultiplehaplotypes,suggestingthathawksbillturtlesfromvariousrookeriescontribute
to foraging grounds in Malaysia (Nishizawa et al., 2016). Interestingly, some of the hawksbill turtle
haplotypes detected in the foraging grounds in Tun SakaranMarine Park and Sipadan Island off the
districtsofSempornahavebeenobservedintherelativelyproximaterookeriesofSuluSea(Nishizawaetal.,2016).
Similartogreenturtles,hawksbillturtlesalsoundergolong-distancemigrations.Hawksbillturtlesnested
inMalaccamigratedtothesouthoftheStraitofMalaccaandthewaterssurroundingtheRiauArchipelago
(Indonesia)andtheneighboringislands.Thissuggeststhatthearchipelagoandtheneighboringislands
areimportantforaginggroundsforthespecies(Lauetal.,2009).
74
ANNEX II: SEIZURE DATA AND SUMMARY FOR SABAH BETWEEN 1999 AND 2017
MarineturtleseizureswereonlyavailableforSabahwhereincidentshavebeenrecordedbytheSabah
WildlifeDepartment since2004 (for live turtlesand turtleparts) and since1999 (for turtleeggs) (see
Figure1),upto2017.Intheperiodbetween1999and2017,atotalof129caseswererecordedinvolvingseizuresofturtleeggswhile23caseswererecordedfrom2004to2017involvingseizuresofwholeor
partsofturtles.
Forseizuresinvolvingturtleeggs,thehighestnumberofseizuresweremadeintheSandakanareawhich
recorded37outofthe129totalcasesreportedfrom1999to2017,withthehighestnumberofcases
typicallyoccurringbetweenJulyandSeptembereachyear,coincidingwithpeakturtlenestingseason.
Thehighestnumberofcasesoccurredin2008with19caseswhile2016recordedthehighestnumberof
eggsseizedwith43,826eggs.Theseizedeggsweremainlyfromgreenandhawksbillturtlesandatthe
timeofseizuresweremainlybeingtransported intoMalaysiatobesoldfor localconsumption. Cases
involved a combination of local communities, foreign nationals (e.g. Filipino) or illegal immigrants to
Malaysia.
Figure1:TotalNumberofSeizuresRelatingtoTurtleEggsinSabah(1999–2017)
Source:WWF-Malaysia/SabahWildlifeDepartment,2018Forturtlesandturtlemeat,seizurerecordsindicatethehighestnumberofcasesoccurinSempornaarea
with12casesoutofatotalof23casesrecorded.From2004to2017,atotalof23caseswererecorded
aroundSabahinvolving835greenandhawksbillturtleswith53kgoffleshand227kgofcarapaceseized
(Figure2).AllofthesecasesinvolvedforeignfishermenfromeitherVietnamorChina,withtheircargo
destinedforexporttointernationalmarkets,likelytobeeitherVietnamorChina.
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Year
No.ofEggs
No.ofCases
Unknown
Kudat
Sandakan
WestCoast
NoofEggs
75
Figure2:TotalNumberofSeizuresRelatingtoTurtlePoachinginSabah(1999–2017)
Source:WWF-Malaysia/SabahWildlifeDepartment,2018
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
20042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017
No.ofTurtles
No.ofCases
Year
Semporna
Sandakan
Kudat
WestCoast
No.ofTurtles
76
ANNEX III: LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTED IN INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND VIET NAM IN 2018
Country Stakeholders OrganisationsIndonesia Government • BKSDABali
• BKSDAWestJava
• BKSDAEastJava
• BKSDAMakassar
NGO • PakMadeKanta,SarahMelaniaandDodi(BaliTurtle
ConservationandEducationCentre,SeranganIsland)
• IWayanWiradnyanaandPakAgung(BaliSeaTurtleSociety)
• HarfiandriDamanhuri(KepalaPusatInformasiPenyudi
UniversitasBungHatta,Padang,N.Sumatra)
• PROFAUNA-Regionaloffices(Java,Kalimantan,Sulawesi)
• TurtleProjectDesaPemuteran,KecamatanGerokgak,
BulelengBali.(since1992)
Researches/
individuals
• DrMirzaDKusrini(DeptofForestResourcesConservation&
EcotourismFacultyofForestry,BogorAgriculturalUniversity,
WestJava)
• DewiDamayanti,Bali
• KhalisDwi(MarineScienceDeptPadjadjaranUniversity,
Bandung,WestJava)
• RetnoKusumaNingrum,Bali
• MonikaRuwaimana(PhDstudent)
• DanielaB.Cavallini
• MaggieMuurmans,PulauBanyak,N.Sumatra
• NurMasyithaNurdin(ConservationandBiodiversityAnalysts
ofBPSPLSatkerMakassar)
• AndiMuhammadIshakYusma(HeadofProgramand
EvaluationSectionofBPSPLSatkerMakassar)
• Mr.MuhammadAmin,HeadSectionof1stRegionof
GAKKUM(BalaiPenegakanHukum)KLHKMakassar
• Alghazali(localKendari)
• Rusli(localKendari,formerturtlehunter/fisherman)
Malaysia Government • DepartmentofFisheriesMalaysia
• SandakanMunicipalCouncil(In-personinterviewwas
conductedwiththeCouncil’sHeadofEnforcementUnit)
NGO • WWFMalaysia–MelakaandSabah
• KudatTurtleConservationSociety
Researchers
• UniversityMalaysiaTerengganu(4researchersworkingon
marineturtleconservationwereinterviewed).
Localcommunity • Vendors(n=6)-Informalinterviewsconductedwithwilling
vendorsbasedatwetanddrymarketsandsouvenirshopsat
varioussurveyedlocations.
• Diveinstructors(n=3)-Informalinterviewsconductedwith
willingdiveoperators/instructorsbasedatthevarious
surveyedlocationsonobservationsonmarineturtletrade.
• Localbusinessowners(n=3)-Informalinterviewsconducted
withwillinglocalbusinessowners(e.g.café,restaurants,etc.)
77
basedatornearwetanddrymarketsatvarioussurveyed
locations.
VietNam NGO
• TheAsianTurtleProgram(ATP)isaregionaltortoiseandfreshwaterturtleresearchandconservationprogrambased
inHanoi,Vietnam.
• WWF-Vietnam
• IUCN-Vietnam(interviews(throughmail)andsharingof
referencedmaterials)
• EducationforNature–VietNam(ENV)
Government • RuralDevelopment(MARD)(groupdiscussionwithexperts
comingfromseveraldepartmentsundertheministryand
interviews)
• DirectorateofFishery(interviews(throughphone)and
sharingreferencedmaterials)
• ConDao’sNationalPark(sharingreferencedmaterials)
• NuiChua’sNationalPark(sharingreferencedmaterials)
• InstituteofResourcesandMarineEnvironment/Instituteof
ScienceandTechnology(sharingresearchfindings)Freelanceexperts • Interviewsandgroupdiscussionwithindividualswhohave
workedinmarineturtleconservationprojectsand/orhave
in-depthexperiencesandknowledgeofthesector
78
ANNEX IV: SEIZURE DATA FOR INDONESIA, MALAYSIA AND VIET NAM BETWEEN JANUARY 2015 AND AUGUST 2018
Date Year Countryof
Seizure
Commodity
seized
Quantity Unit Species Source
31-Jul 2018 Indonesia eggs 199 unknown http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/07/31/sea-turtle-conservation-
workers-arrested-for-selling-eggs-in-border-area-1533029154.html
29-May 2018 Indonesia shells 44.46 kg unknown http://tabloidjubi.com/m/artikel-16583-empat--ton-cangkang-kerang-lola-dan-
karapas-penyu-disita-polisi-papua-barat.html
18-Apr 2018 Indonesia eggs 28 unknown http://www.beritamandiri.co/2018/04/21/telur-penyu-rebus-disita-di-bandara-
terunojoyo/
6-Jun 2018 Indonesia live 27 GreenTurtle https://radar.jawapos.com/baliexpress/read/2018/06/05/79218/polres-
jembrana-amankan-puluhan-penyu-hijau-di-rumah-warga
26-Jan 2018 Indonesia eggs 59 GreenTurtle https://news.okezone.com/read/2018/01/26/340/1850514/2-nelayan-
ditangkap-karena-kedapatan-mencuri-59-butir-telur-penyu
21-Apr 2018 Indonesia dead 1 unknown https://bantenhits.com/2018/04/23/razia-di-perairan-ujung-kulon-polairud-
polres-pandeglang-amankan-empat-nelayan-penangkap-penyu/
12-Mar 2018 Indonesia live 1 GreenTurtle http://sampit.prokal.co/read/news/15769-astaga-penyu-umur-60-tahun-nyaris-
dijual.html
7-May 2018 Indonesia eggs 197 unknown https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/polisi-tangkap-penjual-telur-penyu-di-
samarinda-197-butir-telur-disita.html
18-Apr 2018 Indonesia eggs 45 unknown http://www.balipost.com/news/2018/04/25/43965/Polisi-Amankan-Puluhan-
Telur-Penyu.html
25-Feb 2018 Indonesia live 1 GreenTurtle https://www.liputan6.com/regional/read/3488537/nelayan-morowali-nekat-
hendak-jual-penyu-hijau-berbobot-80-kg
11-Apr 2018 Indonesia live 2 GreenTurtle http://www.balipost.com/news/2018/04/11/42644/Dua-Ekor-Penyu-Sitaan-
Dilepas...html
6-Apr 2018 Indonesia live 45 HawksbillTurtle,
GreenTurtle,
LeatherbackTurtle
http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/majalah/2016/04/160408_majalah_lingkungan_
penyu_bali
27-Mar 2018 Indonesia eggs 1209 unknown http://kaltim.tribunnews.com/2018/03/27/ribuan-telur-penyu-diamankan-dari-
kapal-nelayan
11-Feb 2018 Indonesia eggs 61 unknown https://batampos.co.id/2018/02/12/penyeludupan-telur-penyu-digagalkan/
31-Jan 2018 Indonesia shell 200 kg unknown http://www.mongabay.co.id/2018/02/12/200-kg-sisik-penyu-diamankan-
makassar-sebagai-transit-perdagangan-liar-satwa-dilindungi/
25-Aug 2018 Malaysia eggs 1800 unknown http://www.theborneopost.com/2018/08/27/1800-turtle-eggs-gas-cylinders-
seized/
79
15-Jul 2018 Malaysia eggs 2850 unknown https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/07/15/marine-police-seize-
rm5k-worth-of-turtle-eggs-being-smuggled-into-sandakan-sabah/
19-Apr 2018 Malaysia eggs 1000 unknown http://m.thesundaily.my/news/2018/04/19/marine-police-seize-1000-turtle-
eggs-sarawak
14-Jan 2018 Malaysia shell 4 GreenTurtle https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2018/01/324945/turtle-poachers-
caught-strips-shell-waters-semporna
17-Aug 2018 VietNam live 1 unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20180820022425/https://thanhnien.vn/thoi-
su/tha-rua-bien-nang-60kg-ve-moi-truong-tu-nhien-994448.html
1-Jul 2018 VietNam live 1 unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20180813045606/http://m.vietbao.vn/Xa-hoi/Tha-
rua-bien-nang-12kg-quy-hiem-ve-tu-nhien/610224398/157/
27-Jun 2018 VietNam taxidermied 47 HawksbillTurtle https://touch.facebook.com/EducationforNatureVietnam/
7-Jun 2018 VietNam taxidermied 72 variousspecies https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20180607/police-seize-scores-of-
taxidermied-endangered-turtles-in-southern-vietnam/46005.html
6-Jun 2018 VietNam live 1 HawksbillTurtle https://web.archive.org/web/20180620041732/http://kinhtevn.com.vn/vuon-
quoc-gia-bai-tu-long-tha-mot-ca-the-rua-quy-hiem-ve-bien-33093.html
30-Apr 2018 VietNam dead 12 unknown http://baocamau.com.vn/tin-tuc/ban-giao-vu-van-chuyen-rua-bien-cho-cong-an-
huyen-ngoc-hien-49831.html
25-Nov 2016 VietNam live 1 HawksbillTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_15.pdf
15-Nov 2016 VietNam live 1 unknown http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_15.pdf
13-Sep 2016 VietNam live 1 HawksbillTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_14.pdf
16-Aug 2016 VietNam eggs 1480 unknown http://plo.vn/phap-luat/de-nghi-khoi-to-vu-an-trom-1480-trung-rua-bien-
648957.html
3-Mar 2018 VietNam live 2 HawksbillTurtle https://nongnghiep.vn/kien-giang-tha-2-con-rua-bien-ve-tu-nhien-
post214000.html
28-Feb 2018 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_20.pdf
1-Jan 2018 VietNam live 1 unknown http://www.doisongphapluat.com/tin-tuc/mua-ban-rua-bien-quy-hiem-mot-phu-
nu-bi-phat-10-trieu-dong-a222877.html
23-May 2018 VietNam live 3 GreenTurtle https://baomoi.com/giai-cuu-3-ca-the-rua-bien-tha-ve-moi-truong-tu-
nhien/c/26177810.epi
16-May 2018 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://tamkyrt.vn/news/kinh-te-xa-hoi/ngu-dan-tam-thanh-tha-ca-the-vich-
nang-gan-05-kg-ve-bien-633.html
16-May 2018 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://plo.vn/thoi-su/ben-tre-giai-cuu-va-tha-con-vich-75-kg-ve-bien-
770881.html
13-Jul 2017 France shell 496 kg HawksbillTurtle https://www.rt.com/news/396753-smuggled-tortoiseshell-intercepted-france/
22-Apr 2017 Indonesia live 3 GreenTurtle https://daerah.sindonews.com/read/1199570/174/polisi-gagalkan-
penyelundupan-penyu-hijau-asal-lebak-1492943481
16-Jan 2017 Indonesia live 2 GreenTurtle http://222.124.220.45/read/bali/2017/01/17/71327/diduga-hendak-
diselundupkan-dua-penyu-hijau-berhasil-diamankan.html
20-Feb 2017 Indonesia live 32 unknown
80
dead 6 unknown https://news.mongabay.com/2017/03/law-enforcers-recover-38-sea-turtles-in-
eastern-indonesia/
15-Nov 2017 Indonesia eggs 450 unknown https://www.liputan6.com/regional/read/3164495/aksi-nekat-kakek-nenek-di-
jember-jual-ratusan-telur-penyu
16-Nov 2017 Indonesia live 9 GreenTurtle http://www.mongabay.co.id/2017/11/21/dua-kasus-penangkapan-penyu-di-ntt-
dalam-sepekan-kok-bisa/live 3 HawksbillTurtle
4-Oct 2017 Indonesia shell 439 HawksbillTurtle http://www.mongabay.co.id/2017/10/07/balai-karantina-gagalkan-
penyelundupan-ratusan-tempurung-penyu-sisik-eh-pelaku-kabur/
7-Jul 2017 Indonesia live 50 HawksbillTurtle,
GreenTurtle,Olive
RidleyTurtle
http://www.siwalimanews.com/post/bksda_kkp_gerebek_penangkaran_penyu_i
legal
23-Mar 2017 Indonesia live 7 GreenTurtle http://kupang.tribunnews.com/2017/03/24/hendak-jual-tujuh-ekor-penyu-hijau-
nelayan-kupang-barat-dibekuk-polisi
25-May 2017 Indonesia eggs 300 unknown http://news.rakyatku.com/read/50090/2017/05/25/jual-telur-penyu-dagangan-
orang-ini-disita
5-Aug 2017 Indonesia shell(bangles
andrings)
554 unknown http://mandarnews.com/2017/08/05/polisi-sita-aksesoris-yang-terbuat-dari-
cangkang-penyu/
15-Feb 2017 Indonesia meat 400 kg unknown https://regional.kompas.com/read/2017/02/27/21310091/polisi.amankan.400.k
g.daging.penyu.di.kuta.bali
9-Aug 2017 Malaysia live 1 unknown https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/kes/2017/08/311094/apmm-rampas-
penyu-agar-ikan-yu
7-Oct 2017 Malaysia shell 97 kg GreenTurtle https://www.borneotoday.net/2-foreign-nationals-jailed-fined-for-trading-
protected-green-turtles/
12-Oct 2017 Malaysia eggs 27 unknown https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/290424/woman-held-buying-
turtle-eggs
12-Oct 2017 Malaysia eggs 168 unknown https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/290424/woman-held-buying-
turtle-eggs
9-Aug 2017 Malaysia eggs 3300 unknown http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=119318
7-Aug 2017 Malaysia eggs 83 GreenTurtle http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/08/16/trio-charged-with-possession-of-
turtle-eggs/
7-Aug 2017 Malaysia eggs 130 GreenTurtle http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/08/16/trio-charged-with-possession-of-
turtle-eggs/
7-Aug 2017 Malaysia eggs 23 GreenTurtle http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/08/16/trio-charged-with-possession-of-
turtle-eggs/
16-Aug 2017 Malaysia eggs 345 unknown https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-borneo-post-
sabah/20170811/281582355728583
25-May 2017 Malaysia meat 53 kg GreenTurtle WWF
shell 30 kg
19-May 2017 Malaysia eggs 3000 unknown http://www.theborneopost.com/2017/05/20/man-held-over-3000-turtle-eggs-
in-sandakan/
81
30-Apr 2017 Malaysia organs unknown GreenTurtle http://www.thesundaily.my/news/2017/05/01/five-filipinos-arrested-hunting-
endangered-sea-turtlesmeat 100 kg
shell 25
16-Nov 2017 VietNam live 1 unknown http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_19.pdf
1-Nov 2017 VietNam live 2 HawksbillTurtle http://www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_19.pdf
22-Sep 2017 VietNam live 4 GreenTurtle http://www.vqgnuichua.vn/chitiettin.aspx?id=2176
15-Sep 2017 VietNam live 1 unknown http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_18.pdf
22-Aug 2017 VietNam taxidermied 2 HawskbillTurtle,
GreenTurtle
http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_18.pdf
12-Jul 2017 VietNam live 1 unknown http://daolyson.info/dao-be/ngu-dan-dao-ly-son-tha-rua-bien-quy-hiem-ve-voi-
tu-nhien/
5-May 2017 VietNam live 1 HawksbillTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_17.pdf
13-Jun 2017 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_17.pdf
30-Jun 2017 VietNam taxidermied 1 unknown http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_17.pdf
4-Jun 2017 VietNam eggs 30 GreenTurtle https://tuoitre.vn/30-qua-trung-vich-doi-21-thang-cai-tao-va-50-trieu-
20171007145538958.htm
1-Jul 2017 China taxidermied 38 HawksbillTurtle WildAid2018
1-Jun 2017 China taxidermied 2 HawksbillTurtle WildAid2018
26-Nov 2016 China taxidermied 1 unknown http://www.customs.gov.cn/publish/portal0/tab65602/info831091.htm
1-Sep 2016 China live 153 HawksbillTurtle WildAid2018
2-Feb 2016 China shell 33 HawksbillTurtle TRAFFIC
19-Nov 2016 Indonesia live 20 HawksbillTurtle https://makassar.terkini.id/penyelundupan-20-ekor-penyu-hijau-digagalkan/
28-Jun 2016 Indonesia eggs 17 unknown http://bpspldenpasar.info/penanganan-telur-penyu-sitaan-bkipm-kelas-1-
denpasar-di-bandara-ngurah-rai-bali/
20-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 71 LeatherbackTurtle https://daerah.sindonews.com/read/1102543/174/71-penyu-raksasa-senilai-
miliaran-rupiah-disita-polisi-1461138500
1-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 31 GreenTurtle http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3539362/Bali-police-release-wild-31-
sea-turtles-captured-gang-poachers.html
25-May 2016 Indonesia live 8 unknown https://balebengong.id/berita-utama/perdagangan-penyu-di-bali-kembali-
marak.html?lang=id
19-May 2016 Indonesia live 1 GreenTurtle https://balebengong.id/berita-utama/perdagangan-penyu-di-bali-kembali-
marak.html?lang=id
14-May 2016 Indonesia live 12 GreenTurtle https://arumsekartaji.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/penyu-terjepit-karang-
blowing-rocks-florida/seorang-wisatawan-membantu-menggotong-penyu-hijau-
chelonia-mydas-yang-berhasil-disita-polisi-dari-upaya-penyelundupan-saat-akan-
dilepas-di-pantai-kuta-bali-rabu-145/
30-Jul 2016 Indonesia dead 2 GreenTurtle http://sultravelers.blogspot.com/2016/08/ikan-napoleon-dan-penyu-biru-
milik.html
82
3-Mar 2016 Indonesia shell 365 HawksbillTurtle http://gosulsel.com/2016/03/03/jual-cangkang-penyu-sisik-nelayan-ini-raup-
duit-puluhan-juta/
3-Mar 2016 Indonesia shell 25 packets HawksbillTurtle http://www.lintasntt.com/polisi-tangkap-penjual-cangkang-penyu-dari-lembata/
14-Oct 2016 Indonesia shell 20 kg unknown http://www.mongabay.co.id/2016/10/18/perdagangan-kulit-harimau-
terbongkar-di-riau-dan-medan/
28-Sep 2016 Indonesia dead 1 GreenTurtle http://www.mongabay.co.id/2016/09/29/miris-penyu-ini-dipotong-dan-dijual-di-
pasar-amurang/
24-Sep 2016 Indonesia eggs 125 unknown https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/pedagang-telur-penyu-dibekuk-saat-
sedang-berjualan.html
20-Sep 2016 Indonesia eggs 139 unknown TRAFFIC
7-Sep 2016 Indonesia live 10 unknown TRAFFIC
17-Aug 2016 Indonesia eggs 4600 unknown http://www.beraunews.com/hukum-kriminal/polres/985-penyelundupan-ribuan-
telur-penyu-digagalkan-polsek-tanjung-redeb
2-Aug 2016 Indonesia eggs 63 unknown http://pontianak.tribunnews.com/2016/08/03/63-telur-penyu-diamankan-
anggota-bksda
29-Jul 2016 Indonesia eggs 161 unknown https://www.mongabay.co.id/2016/07/31/lagi-500-telur-penyu-asal-kepulauan-
riau-dijual-di-pontianak/
25-May 2016 Indonesia eggs 150 OliveRidley http://www.antaranews.com/foto/99644/razia-hewan-dilindungi
taxidermied 2
25-May 2016 Indonesia live 29 GreenTurtle http://bali.tribunnews.com/2016/05/26/satpolair-buleleng-gagalkan-
penyelundupan-29-penyu-hijau-satu-mati
21-Apr 2016 Indonesia taxidermied 1 HawksbillTurtle http://www.tribunnews.com/tribunners/2016/04/22/klhk-dan-polda-kalbar-
tangkap-pedagang-assesoris-dari-organ-satwa-langka
21-Apr 2016 Indonesia shell 1 GreenTurtle http://www.tribunnews.com/tribunners/2016/04/22/klhk-dan-polda-kalbar-
tangkap-pedagang-assesoris-dari-organ-satwa-langka
17-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 2 HawksbillTurtle https://www.republika.co.id/berita/nasional/daerah/16/04/17/o5s9s4282-polisi-
tangkap-pedagang-penyu-sisikdead 1
16-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 70 GreenTurtle http://regional.kontan.co.id/news/penyelundupan-70-ekor-penyu-hijau-
digagalkan
21-Mar 2016 Indonesia taxidermied 1 LeatherbackTurtle http://harianrakyatbengkulu.com/ver3/2016/03/23/polisi-sita-obsetan-penyu/
6-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 45 GreenTurtle https://komunita.id/2016/04/28/jaan-seharusnya-penyu-selundupan-itu-
langsung-dipulangkan-ke-laut/
7-Apr 2016 Indonesia live 40 GreenTurtle https://www.facebook.com/176585509072713/videos/1163501477047773/
1-Apr 2016 Indonesia taxidermied 8 HawksbillTurtle http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/04/07/police-discover-illegal-
wildlife-trade-in-c-java.htmlshell 3
shell(bangles
andrings)
382
29-Mar 2016 Indonesia shell unknown HawksbillTurtle http://portalsatu.com/read/news/petugas-gagalkan-penyelundupan-bagian-
tubuh-satwa-9350
83
28-Feb 2016 Indonesia shell 135 HawksbillTurtle http://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/135-suvenir-cangkang-penyu-sisik-di-berau-
kaltim-disita-kkp.html
3-Mar 2016 Indonesia shell unknown HawksbillTurtle http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/04/islands-focus-police-stop-
endangered-turtle-smuggling.html
2-Sep 2016 Indonesia live 1 GreenTurtle http://www.papuapos.com/index.php/seputar-jayapura/port-
numbay/item/6478-penyu-hijau-kembali-ke-laut
8-Dec 2016 Malaysia live 1200 unknown https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/200-rare-turtles-die-on-smugglers-boat-
heading-from-malaysia-to-vietnam-3510686.htmldead 200
10-Nov 2016 Malaysia eggs 3011 unknown WWF-SWD2018
3-Sep 2016 Malaysia eggs 3000 GreenTurtle WWF-SWD2018
3-Sep 2016 Malaysia eggs 500 unknown WWF-SWD2018
3-Sep 2016 Malaysia eggs 4000 unknown WWF-SWD2018
1-Sep 2016 Malaysia eggs 9900 unknown WWF-SWD2018
23-Jul 2016 Malaysia shell 2 GreenTurtle WWF
17-Jul 2016 Malaysia eggs 4050 unknown WWF-SWD2018
16-Jul 2016 Malaysia eggs 19000 GreenTurtle https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/07/16/sabah-police-turtle-
eggs/
27-Jun 2016 Malaysia shell 4 unknown WWF
21-Jun 2016 Malaysia eggs 365 unknown WWF-SWD2018
13-Apr 2016 Malaysia shell 18 unknown https://www.hmetro.com.my/node/130315
5-Mar 2016 Malaysia dead 19 GreenTurtle WWF
15-Jan 2016 Malaysia dead 6 unknown WWF
20-Jul 2016 VietNam meat 8 kg unknown https://thanhnien.vn/doi-song/bat-qua-tang-mot-thanh-nien-xe-thit-rua-bien-
quy-hiem-o-phu-quy-725299.html
9-Jul 2016 VietNam live 2 unknown http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_14.pdf
18-Mar 2016 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://www.bienphong.com.vn/tha-4-con-rua-bien-ve-tu-nhien/
22-Feb 2016 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_12.pdf
17-Jun 2016 VietNam eggs 116 GreenTurtle https://tuoitre.vn/30-qua-trung-vich-doi-21-thang-cai-tao-va-50-trieu-
20171007145538958.htm
7-Jun 2016 VietNam live 3 OliveRidley TRAFFIC
6-Jun 2016 VietNam live 2 OliveRidley TRAFFIC
4-Aug 2016 VietNam taxidermied 17 HawksbillTurtle TRAFFIC
2-Aug 2016 VietNam taxidermied 4 HawksbillTurtle TRAFFIC
2-Jun 2016 VietNam taxidermied 2 HawksbillTurtle https://www.facebook.com/EducationforNatureVietnam/photos/a.15598277778
0655.30084.135213259857607/1096459313732992/?type=3&theater
2-Jun 2016 VietNam taxidermied 2 GreenTurtle https://www.facebook.com/EducationforNatureVietnam/photos/a.15598277778
0655.30084.135213259857607/1096459313732992/?type=3&theater
13-May 2016 VietNam live 1 OliveRidley TRAFFIC
4-May 2016 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/ON_THE_TRAIL_13.pdf
84
18-Jul 2016 VietNam live 1 HawksbillTurtle TRAFFIC
28-Jul 2016 Philippines dead 100 HawksbillTurtle http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/28/16/look-100-dead-hawksbill-sea-turtles-
in-palawan
31-Oct 2016 China dead 109 HawksbillTurtle http://laodong.com.vn/thoi-su-xa-hoi/chua-day-1-tuan-giai-cuu-9-ca-the-dong-
vat-hoang-da-560583.bldheads 102
21-Jan 2016 VietNam taxidermied 9 GreenTurtle https://web.archive.org/web/20160121033235/https://www.facebook.com/Edu
cationforNatureVietnam/photos/a.155982777780655.30084.135213259857607/
1010622415650016/?type=3&theater
23-Jun 2015 Indonesia live 18 GreenTurtle http://badungku.blogspot.com/2015/06/dari-rumah-makan-kawasan-penatih-
dan.html
11-Dec 2015 Indonesia taxidermied 1 HawksbillTurtle http://www.newswise.com//articles/major-illegal-tiger-skin-trader-arrested-in-
indonesiashell 1 unknown
22-Oct 2015 Indonesia shell 345 kg unknown http://www.mongabay.co.id/2015/10/25/perdagangan-satwa-liar-lewat-paket-
ekspedisi-makin-menjadi/
22-Oct 2015 Indonesia meat 70 kg unknown http://www.mongabay.co.id/2015/10/25/perdagangan-satwa-liar-lewat-paket-
ekspedisi-makin-menjadi/
24-Nov 2015 Indonesia shell 1 GreenTurtle http://bali.tribunnews.com/2015/11/24/lakukan-operasi-penumpang-di-benoa-
cangkang-penyu-disita
17-Sep 2015 Indonesia live 45 GreenTurtle http://regional.kompas.com/read/2015/09/17/17400591/Penyelundupan.45.Pe
nyu.dari.Madura.Digagalkan.Tiga.Orang.Buron
31-Aug 2015 Indonesia eggs 6725 unknown https://regional.kompas.com/read/2015/09/02/21342641/Penyelundupan.6.725
.Telur.Penyu.ke.Malaysia.Digagalkan
30-Jul 2015 Indonesia taxidermied 5 unknown http://www.mongabay.co.id/2015/07/31/gerebek-toko-barang-antik-di-
bandung-temukan-puluhan-souvenir-satwa-dilindungi/
13-Jun 2015 Indonesia live 1 GreenTurtle http://www.mongabay.co.id/2015/06/16/polres-minahasa-utara-gagalkan-
perdagangan-penyu-hijau-bagaimana-ceritanya/
5-Jun 2015 Indonesia meat 56 kg GreenTurtle https://www.facebook.com/baliseaturtlesociety/photos/pcb.994110763932353/
994109857265777/?type=1&theater
19-Jan 2015 Indonesia dead 50 HawksbillTurtle http://birdsheadseascape.com/conservation-science/indonesian-government-
sinks-vietnamese-shark-poaching-boat-creates-new-dive-site-2/
14-Feb 2015 Indonesia dead 1 HawksbillTurtle http://nasional.news.viva.co.id/news/read/589921-polisi-ringkus-penjual-
harimau-yang-diawetkan
31-Jan 2015 Indonesia dead 1 GreenTurtle http://www.lensaindonesia.com/2015/01/31/polda-jatim-dan-interpol-inggris-
ungkap-penyelundupan-satwa-langka.html
11-Dec 2015 Malaysia eggs 430 unknown WWF-SWD2018
29-Nov 2015 Malaysia eggs 3000 unknown WWF-SWD2018
15-Nov 2015 Malaysia eggs 3000 unknown https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/11/111617/boatman-arrested-smuggling-
attempt-30000-turtle-eggs-seized
85
18-Aug 2015 Malaysia eggs 2600 unknown http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/06/24/2100-turtle-eggs-rm28548-
cigarettes-seized/#ixzz3dwMKmxDP
23-Jun 2015 Malaysia eggs 2100 unknown http://www.nst.com.my/node/96749
17-Mar 2015 Malaysia eggs 280 unknown http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/wilayah/sarawak/280-telur-penyu-dirampas-
di-tiga-pasar-1.70579
31-Dec 2015 VietNam live 2 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ON_THE_TRAIL_10.pdf
17-Dec 2015 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ON_THE_TRAIL_11.pdf
9-Dec 2015 VietNam live 6 HawksbillTurtle,
GreenTurtle
http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ON_THE_TRAIL_11.pdf
4-Nov 2015 VietNam dead unknown unknown https://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/hang-nghin-con-rua-bien-tac-ke-say-kho-
van-chuyen-vao-viet-nam-3315337.html
24-Jul 2015 VietNam live 1 GreenTurtle http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ON_THE_TRAIL_10.pdf
8-Apr 2015 VietNam live 1 unknown http://207.204.5.11/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ON_THE_TRAIL_9.pdf
27-Jan 2015 VietNam shells 2.7 kg unknown http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2928264/Police-discover-frozen-tiger-
cut-five-parts-animal-bones-turtle-shells-hidden-truck-Vietnam-destined-black-
market-traditional-medicine.html
86
ANNEX V: MARINE TURTLE HATCHERY INFORMATION FOR INDONESIA 2018
JavaInMay2018,eightsiteswerevisitedinJavatoassessthecurrentstateofturtlemanagementthere.Nestingbeachesonotherislandswerelisted.Eggpoachingwasreportedfromallsites.Touristsatallsitesweremainlylocal.Hatcheryfacilitiesweregenerallyverysimpleandcoulddowithimprovement.Hatchlingturtleswereoftenkeptforsixmonths.Fungaldiseaseswerecommon.Insummary:No Location Description1 PramukaIsland,
PulauSeribu,JakartaBay,WestJava
Thegovernment-runturtlehatcheryonP.Pramukawasclosedtotouristswhileundergoingrenovationandconstructionofaturtleclinic(startJuly2018)andthereweresomehawksbillturtlehatchlingsandaveryfewyoungcaptiveHawksbillandgreenturtlesthere.30%mortalitieswererecorded.
2 HarapanIsland,PulauSeribu,JakartaBay,WestJava
Government-run,hasaneducationalthemeandaguide.LargenumbersofHawksbilleggsandhatchlingswerebeingkept,andthreeadultHawksbillturtleswerebeingheldthere.Rangerspatrolbeaches3-4timesamonth.20-30%mortalitieswererecorded
3 KelapaDuaIslandPulauSeribu,JakartaBay,WestJava
Government–run,theyhaveaninformation/educationboardondisplay.Noeggsinthehatchery(usingbucketsonly),462hatchlingHawksbillturtlesand11youngturtles.Hatchlingsarekeptfor6monthsbeforerelease.30%mortalitieswererecorded.
4 Pangumbahan,Sukabumi,WestJava
Government-runfacility.Aninformationboardforeducation,andaguide.2703Greenturtleeggsinthehatchery,and4youngturtles.Hatchlingsarenotkeptbutreleasedonthedayofhatching.Duringthepeakhatchingseason((September-October)over300hatchlingsarereleasedeveryday.OliveRidleyswerelastseenin2012.Dailypatrols.10-20%mortality.
5 CemaraBeach,PantaiRejo,Banyuwangi,EastJava
RunbylocalNGOPokMasWas.FundedbyoilcompanyPertaminaandotherdonations.Educationalinformationboard,Guide.Someinternationalvisitors.874OliveRidleyeggskeptinanindoorhatchery,58hatchlingsand6youngturtles.20-30%mortality.Peoplecan‘adoptaturtle’forRp.20,000.
6 SukamadeBeach,MeruBetiriNationalPark,Banyuwangi,EastJava
Government–run.4speciesofturtle(Green,Hawksbill,OliveRidley,andrarely,Leatherback)nestalongthecoast.15097Greenturtleand3207OliveRidleyeggsinthehatchery,Mortalities20%.ForRp.30,000visitorscangoonaturtlewatchatnight,andaturtlereleaseinthemorning.
7 NgagelanBeach,AlasPurwoNationalPark,Banyuwangi,EastJava
Government–run.Visitorsaremainlyinternationaltourists.16,302OliveRidleyeggsinhatcheryand106hatchlings.10%mortalityreported.Onlyonenestofeggskeptfor3monthsafterhatching,therestreleased.Hatcheryisoutsidewithstrongmeshtoprotecteggsfrommonkeys.4speciesnestalongthisbeach–Green,OliveRidley,HawksbillandoccasionallyLeatherback.Dailypatrols.
8 BoomBeach,Banyuwangi,EastJava
Establishedin2011.FacilityrunbytheBanyuwangiTurtleFoundationNGO.Touristvisitsnotencouraged.IndoorhatcherywithCCTV.9008OliveRidleyeggsinhatchery.Noadultorhatchlingturtleskept.EggsboughtfromlocalpeopleforRp.2,500eachasanincentivenottosellelsewhere.5%Mortality.OliveRidleysstillnestalongthebeachinspiteofheavytouristpressure,lightsandnoise.Educationaltalkstoschoolsandturtleeventsforpublicawareness.Websitewww.bstf.org.
87
BaliIn2018,12turtlehatcheriesandattractionswereidentifiedInBali.Insummary:No. Name Location Notes1. KurmaAsih DesaPerancak,Kabupaten
Jembrana
Formerly fundedbyDaihatsu.Uncertainwhether this isstillthecase.Farfrommainroad.Someeggs,sticks.Nopublicinformation.
2 TECSerangan
DesaSerangan,KotaDenpasar
Awell-runfacilityformerlysupportedbyWWF.Eggsareboughtfromlocalpeople.Turtlesarereleasedsoonafterhatching.Knowledgeablestaff, lecturetheatre for turtletalks to schools, public. Many overseas visitors. Needsurgentfundingtoenlargehatchery.Noeggsinsand.Runson donations. Receives little /no financial support fromBKSDAbutlegal.Hasbrokenpump,needsanewonetopump in sea water. Some turtles sick. Parasites andbuoyancyproblems.
3 KonservasiPenyudanKura-Kura
Serangan A community-run operation. Only 5 large Green turtlesand hawksbills in a covered pond. Eggs kept in smallbuckets.Visitorscanfeedtheturtleswithseaweed.Notmuch educational value. Many floating baskets withhatchlings.Boughtfromlocalpeople.
4 DeluangSariTurtleFarm
DesaTanjungBenoa,Benoa,KabupatenBadung
Overcrowded,poorconditions.MostlyAsiantourists.
5 KonservasiPenyuSabaAsri
PantaiSaba,Gianyar Locked up at time of visit. No access. Some eggs in ahatchery visible over fence. Strange notice aboutdonationRp.5million?BankPadmanotice–sponsor?
6 KonservasiPenyuSindhuDwarawai
PantaiSindhu,Sanur Verysmall.Suffersfromlackoffunding.Onbeachbutnotpopularwithwesterntourists.
7 KonservasiPenyuYehGangga
PantaiYehGangga,Tabanan Nesting beach only. No hatchery. No info. Old buildingnowusedforstorageofceremonial(Barong)items.
8 KonservasiPenyuPemuteran
PantaiPemuteran,KabupatenBuleleng
Noinfo
9 PenangkaranPenyuTegalBesar
PantaiTegalBesar,KabupatenKlungkung
Noinfo
10 BaliSeaTurtleSociety
PantaiKuta,Kuta,KabupatenBadung
Well run facility.Many eggs collected on tourist beach,incubatedandreleasedsamedayofhatching(releasesdonot ask for payment). Good community relationsManywesternvisitors.Urgentlyneedsmoreroomforhatcherytoexpand.
11 PenangkaranPenyuMooncotSari
TanjungBenoa Inadequate in many ways. Dirty, overcrowded, noeducationalvalue.AlmostentirelyAsianvisitors.
12 PenangkaranPenyuBulihBali
PulauPudut,BenoaTanjungBenoa
Areaapprox.1000m2.1bigpond(partialshade),5smallponds.10bigGTinbigpondin10cmdeepdirtymuddywater(lowtide),severalsmallandmediumsizedturtles
88
‘NewBulihBaliTurtleFarm”
(HT and ORT in smaller ponds covered with big mesh(“becausetheybite”).Guideswereverybadlyinformed.Otheranimalsinrustysmallcagesincluded1reticulatedpython,4owlsfromJava(?),fruitbats,1greeniguana,2palmcivets.Guides insistedonpeoplesittingonturtles,even if theydidnotwant to.Photos takenof themandthenchargedRp.200,00.Visitorsalsoencouragedtofeedturtleswithhandfulsofseaweed.
13 TurtleProject
DesaPemuteran,KecamatanGerokgak,BulelengBali.(since1992)
Managedbytheownerof“ReefSeenDivers’Resort”.Hatcheryandreleases.Localpeoplegivenincentivetobringturtleeggstofacility.Visitorsaskedtopayadonationtoreleasebabyturtles.AdultHawksboillturtlesalsoreleased.Pondsforhatchlingandadultturtles. Records show receipt of 1750 eggs, 1467hatchlings,1017hatchlingreleases,116adultturtlereleases.(to05June2018)