Perhentian Turtle Project Report
Transcription
Perhentian Turtle Project Report
TEAM BUILDIN G EXPEDITIONS COMMUNITY PROJECT ECOTOURISM 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Visit our website and Facebook page for more information : www.perhentianturtleproject.com www.facebook.com/perhentianturtleproject Check out the video for our project here : http://youtu.be/JrmPQug63PE For further inquiries reach us at: [email protected] 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Acknowledgements The sea turtle photo identification research under the Perhentian the turtle photos and spreading the words to increase the number Turtle Project (PTP) was conducted in collaboration with Terengganu of turtle sightings. We would like specifically thank Alunan Resort, State Department of Fisheries (DoF) and under a research permit Perhentian Island Resort, Coral View Resort and Reef Chalet for from Department of Marine Park to build a sea turtle database supporting our awareness campaigns aimed to provide information and movement map at Perhentian Islands. We would also like to and educate public. thank National Marine Aquarium and Durham University Charities Kommittee for the financial assistance that made this research We would like to extend our gratitude to the dedicated Perhentian possible and Kaginic Corporation for funding the turtle camps. Islands Turtle Crew from the Department of Fisheries for their constant efforts to protect sea turtles and their nesting habitats. It This is a report of the Perhentian Turtle Project for season 2015. has been a great pleasure working with Noor Hisam Bin Mohommad, The work presented here were done by our dedicated team – Long Ismail Bin Yaakob, Amran Bin Mohammad, Muhammad Ghazali, Seh Ling, Nicholas John Tolen, Nazirul Amin Azmi, Petros Persad, Saiful Nizam Bin Ismail, Mohamad Syukiiran Deraman and Che Charlotte Emily Babbs, Muhammad Azri Fakrullah Mohd Azhar, Husin Bin Che Harum. They have been very helpful and generous in Terissa Ng Chiew Tsann, Csaba Szilvási and Kevin Heitzman. We sharing their local knowledge on sea turtles, which has provided us a would also like to express our gratitude to the volunteers and tourists different insight and perspective to sea turtle conservation. who were involved in the project. The continuous support of Ecoteer Teaching and Community Project and Blue Temple Conservation staff We are also thankful to the local boatmen and snorkel guides is acknowledged for helping in snorkel surveys and night patrols. for their involvement in the project and informing tourists about Special thanks to Bubbles Dive Resort for their efforts in protecting responsible snorkel practices. The training has been a valuable sea turtles and collecting data, Will Forster and Thomas Brown for sharing platform of knowledge exchange. We would like to helping to establish a photo ID system and Christopher Town for acknowledge the residents of Perhentian Islands for their warmth and providing access to NaturePatternMatch. continued support all along. Lastly, our utmost gratitude is extended to Daniel Quilter and The aim of reaching out to the public would not be possible without Pavithran Damadram, co-founders of Fuze Ecoteer, who provided the support from many other stakeholders, including resorts, guest their ongoing support and advice. The help of Fuze Ecoteer staff houses, chalets, dive centers, restaurants, cafes, etc. Thank you for based in Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Merapoh is also recognised. 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Contents Acknowledgement - Introduction 1 Objectives 2 Sea Turtle Photo Identification Research 3 Sightings 3 Population Size and Sex Ratios 5 Nesting Data 6 Distribution and Movements 7 Identified Threats 9 Conservation Programmes 11 Snorkel Guides and Boatmen Training 11 Resort Staff Training 13 Awareness Campaign 14 Turtle Camp 16 Cleanup 18 Conclusion 19 V 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Introduction The Perhentian Islands, a popular tourist destination, are home to This method is non-invasive and reliable for long-term over 1,900 local villagers, as well as nesting and foraging grounds monitoring, plus allows trained and untrained villagers and for two sea turtle species, namely green turtle (Chelonia mydas) tourists to be directly engaged in research and conservation of and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). The islands are the sea turtles in the Perhentians. It also allows for male sea turtles second highest nesting ground at Terengganu’s Archipelago, to be studied as other methods such as tagging normally take recording at least 250 nests annually. The primary conservation place on nesting beaches, thus only study female individuals. strategy focus on protecting turtle eggs on nesting beaches. The village snorkel guides and boatmen, resort staff and divers Other than nesting data, there is a paucity of information, from dive centres were briefed about the project and trained specifically on the turtles that spend most of the time in the to take suitable photos. They then spread the knowledge and water. engaged tourists in the project through photo submissions to the project website and social media. Our team members joined The project was set up to better understand the turtle different snorkel guides and boatmen in rotation to provide extra populations around the islands using photo identification training and guidance. By involving the locals and tourists in data method to identify individuals. The project is novel as it is one collection, they were directly being educated about sea turtle of the first in Malaysia whereby automated sea turtle photo conservation. facial recognition is used to create a spatial and temporal map and database of sea turtles. Many species bear distinct natural The project also worked with the Department of Fisheries staff markings and patterns that allows individuals to be identified to collect data of nesting sea turtles. Posters and buntings were from photos. Photo identification has been to identify many large distributed and put up in snorkel boats, resorts, dive centres, and long-lived species, including manta rays, leopard sharks, cafes, jetty, and shops to inform the public about the project. dolphins, whale sharks, etc. The facial scale patterns of sea turtles Turtle exhibits were set up at different locations around the are unique to individual. Hence, using a automated pattern islands. Sufficient data collection can help to estimate the matching software – Natural Pattern Match, individual sea turtles population size, sex ratios, distribution and movements of sea in the water and on the beach could be recognised. turtles at Perhentian Islands Marine Park. 1 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Objectives The project aims to: • Create a sea turtle photo database by identifying individual juveniles, male and female adults. • Create a spatial and temporal map that shows the distribution and movements of sea turtles. • Educate and raise awareness among the locals and tourists through sea turtle awareness activities and engage them in conservation efforst. • Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders to maximise conservation efforts by taking consideration of the interests of these stakeholders. 2 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Sea Turtle Photo Identification Research SIGHTINGS A total of 1836 sightings were obtained from 2009 to 2015, of which 886 (48.2%) from our team, 306 (16.7%) from other conservation projects, such as Perhentian Community and Teaching Project (PCT), Blue Temple Conservation (BTC) and Bubbles Turtle and Reef Conservation Project (BUB), 429 (23.4%) from local villagers, 16 (0.9%) from resort staff and divers from dive centres and 199 (10.8%) from tourists (Table 1). Table 1. The number of sightings collected from 2009 until 2015. Year Number of sightings Perhentian Turtle Project Other Conservation Projects Local Villagers Resorts/Dive Centres Tourists 2009 0 0 6 0 0 2010 0 0 0 0 2 2011 0 1 2 0 7 2012 0 13 4 0 49 2013 0 28 110 0 36 2014 0 123 183 1 37 2015 886 136 124 15 68 Total 886 306 429 16 199 In 2015, 886 (72.1%) of 1229 sightings were collected by our team, followed by 136 (11.1%) from other conservation projects, 124 (10.1%) from local villagers, 68 (5.5%) from tourists and 15 (1.2%) from resorts/dive centres (Fig. 1). As the project started in 2015, a total of 607 photo sightings from the previous years were gathered from other sources, of which more than half were contributed by local villagers and another half from other conservation projects and tourists (Fig. 2). 3 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT 2009 2014 Figure 1. The number of turtle sightings in 2015. 2015 Figure 2. The number of sea turtle sightings from 2009 until 2014, contributed by other conservation projects, locals, resorts/dive centres and tourists. 4 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Population Size and Sex Ratios The photo database contains 101 individual green turtles was unknown. (14 male adults, 67 female adults and 20 juveniles of The foraging population were not the same individuals unknown sex) and 10 hawksbill turtles of undetermined as the nesting population. There is no record of foraging sex. The profile for each individual consists of photos from sea turtles nesting on the islands and vice versa. All 10 both sides of the face (Fig. 3). The sex of the individual individuals of hawksbill turtles were seen in the water. 56 was determined based on the size and length of its tail. green turtles (14 male adults, 22 female adults and 20 Male has a larger and longer tail. As male juveniles have juveniles) were seen in the water whereas 45 female green not developed the tail, therefore the sex for juveniles turtles were sighted nesting in the Perhentians A B C D E F G H Figure 3. The photo database contains individual profiles of both side of the face of a male adult green turtle (AB), a female adult green turtle (C-D), a juvenile green turtle (E-F) and a hawksbill (G-H). 5 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Figure 4. The number of nests and identified individual females on nesting beaches in 2015. NESTING DATA Nine and 36 female green turtles were identified from A total of 20741 eggs were relocated to the hatchery and sightings taken in year 2014 and 2015, respectively. 17579 hatchlings successfully emerged from the nest. None of these individuals were seen in the waters of Please not that hatching data for 7 nests that were laid the Perhentians. Prior to the use of photo identification from November onwards, which accounted for 524 eggs, to identify individual nesters, only data on the number are yet to be recorded. On average, the incubation period of landings, eggs and hatching success were recorded. was approximately 49 days. Nesting density may not accurately infer the population size as a female can lay between 1 to 9 nests during a Overall, the average hatching success is 86.3%. As nests breeding season. It is important to note that the number were relocated from different beaches, those that were is just an estimate and not all nesting individuals were relocated from other beaches via boat transfer had a lower identified due to poor quality or absence of photos. 267 hatching success (86.1%) than those that we relocated nests were laid by at least 36 females in 2015 (Fig. 4). from the same beach as the hatchery was located at Nesting turtles showed fidelity to nesting beach, almost (87.5%). Nonetheless, the difference was not significant. always returning to the same beach and sometimes using other nearby beaches. 6 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT RECYCLING PROGRAMME Sea turtle were seen feeding at 12 snorkel/dive sites and There were repeated sightings of the same individual at nesting at eight beaches as shown in the map (Fig. 5). the same location, showing site fidelity. Some individuals Due to the different diets between two species, green were seen at different locations, showing movements turtles and hawksbill turtles have different habitat use. around the islands. A juvenile green turtle were sighted Green turtles were commonly seen around sea grass beds, very often at Teluk Pauh and was spotted once sleeping particularly at Teluk Pauh and Atas Busong, collectively on branching corals at Batu Layar by divers during a night known as Turtle Bay, and at times among the coral reefs. dive. A few hawksbill turtles were seen moving around Meanwhile, hawksbill turtles were always spotted around different snorkel/dive sites, nonetheless still among coral the reefs feeding on sponges and corals. reefs. Almost all beaches at Perhentian Islands are nesting Two of the foraging green turtles had tags from Redang beaches. The beaches that showed higher number of Islands on the front flippers. Three of the nesting females nests every year are Tanjung Tukas, Pinang Seribu and Tiga had tags also from Redang Islands. This shows that the Ruang. The Department of Fisheries’s hatchery is situated turtles migrate between the Terengganu’s Archipelago and at Tiga Ruang, which is also the beach where our team may be of the same population. collected nesting data. 7 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Figure 5. Sea turtle map at the Perhentian Islands Marine Park 8 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Identified Threats Besides poaching of turtle eggs, boats were identified as one of the main threats causing the mortality of sea turtles (Fig. 6). In 2015, four dead turtles were reported with photos and all showed injuries from boat strike. One dead turtle matched a juvenile green turtle in the database whereas the remaining had decomposed beyond recognition. There were a few individuals that survived and the injuries eventually healed showing distinct scarring. A B C D E F Figure 6. A female green turtle with a cracked shell boat stike had shell with incomplete edge on the left proximal to the right front flipper (A) but survived and (D); The juvenile turtle that was reported dead at the injury healed shhowing white-coloured scars on the Turtle Bay and the facial patterns matched one of the shell (B); A female green turtle that fed at Perhentian juveniles in the database (E); A dead green turtle found Islands and nested at Redang Islands had a cracked floating at the surface with badly injured shell (F). shell (C); A female green turtle that recovered from 9 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Tourism development, If not managed sustainably, will have an adverse impact on sea turtles and the environment. Sea turtles provide economic benefits through nonconsumptive use, which is viewing sea turtles while snorkelling and/or diving. However, an increased number of tourists and irresponsible human behaviours around a turtle can cause stress or disturbance to the animal. Ecofriendly guidelines should be adhered during turtle watch to minimise the act of humans chasing after and touching sea turtles in the water (Fig. 7). Protection of the habitat is equally important to the sustainability of the species. Littering is a huge problem on the islands. As the number of tourists increases, so does the amount of the rubbish. Rubbish on the beach block the Figure 7. Turtle Bay is a popular stop for all snorkel path of nesting turtles. Plastic bags that end tours for tourists to watch turtles. During the peak up in the sea might be mistaken as jellyfish, season, more than 5 boats, each carrying 2-12 the prey of sea turtles. Sewage runoff from tourists, crowding around a turtle causes disturbance land also cause pollution and disrupt the and stress to the turtle. health and functionality of the ocean. 10 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Conservation Prog rammes Snorkel Guides and Boatmen Training A key initiative to raise awareness and spread conservation Part of the training required the snorkel guides and efforts was educating snorkel guides and boatmen in safe boatmen to participate in a role play, taking turns to snorkeling and also teaching them how to conduct safe practise safety briefing and being a tourist. Our team turtle watching. As tourism is the livelihood of the islands, followed them out on snorkel survey for evaluation and these snorkel guides and boatmen are keys to how tourists feedback, which is an ongoing initiative. and locals interact with marine wildlife. The training was based on 2-way interactions and the In collaboration with Department of Marine Park and content of the training was improved trough sharing of Reef Check Malaysia, our team helped to train 34 snorkel knowledge and experiences. Experienced snorkel guides guides and boatmen to provide safety briefing and and boatmen had good knowledge to conduct eco- environmental information according to Marine Park rules friendly snorkel tours and most were able to converse in and Green Fins code of conducts, which covered the dos English. Only some struggled to give briefing in English. and don’ts in a Marine Park, how to put on life jacket, mask and snorkel, how to snorkel safely and the common coral It was evident that snorkel guides and boatmen tend to reefs species (Fig. 8). please their customers, which sometimes resulting in non eco-friendly snorkel practices. Conserving the environment During the training, our training on sea turtle photo and minimise impacts from tourism activities are not one identification research included introduction to species of party’s efforts. The first step is to provide information to sea turtles in Malaysia, threats to sea turtles, characteristics encourage eco-friendly snorkel practices that maximize to differentiate green turtles from hawksbill turtles, how to snorkel experience and reduce detrimental impacts on the recognise individuals from facial scale patterns, short eco- environment. friendly snorkel briefing for tourists at Turtle Bay. 11 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT ongoing evaluation of snorkel guides and boatmen conducting snorkel tours for improvements (E-F). A D B E C Figure 8. Eco-snorkel guide training for the local snorkel guides and boatmen that included presentation and exercises (A-B), role play to F practise giving briefing to tourists (C-D) and 12 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Resort Staff Training Almost all beaches are nesting grounds for sea turtles. Although the number of landings to developed beaches with bright lights is low but occasionally one or two females nested at darker beach areas that are in between resorts. Resort staff from Petani Beach had informed us twice when a turtle came ashore and one of it was a hawksbill turtle, which was the only hawksbill nest in relocated to the hatchery in 2015. It is a rare sight to watch turtle lay eggs on resort beaches, therefore when one does come up the beach, human disturbance is high because everyone wants to see the turtle and take photos. Due to darkness, people tend to use flash photography which usually disturbs the turtle. Therefore, training was given to resort staff at Petani Beach to manage the crowd in order to reduce disturbance on the turtle while still allowing turtle watch. The knowledge of sea turtles, importance to humans and ecosystem and threats to sea turtles were explained to the staff. Unlike the eco-snorkel guide training, this training focused on collecting nesting data and managing tourists on the beach, for example how to locate a turtle, approach a turtle, check for tags, take carapace measurements and take photos without flash, etc (Fig. 9). The protocol is to call the staff of Department of Fisheries, who will arrive by boat to collect the eggs and relocate to the hatchery. B C Figure 9. The training included a presentation on sea turtles (A) and a demonstration to collect research data on nesting females (B), followed by staff repeat the data collection procedure of measuring the carapace A 13 (C) and taking photos without flash (D). D 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Awareness Campaign Raising awareness amongst tourists is vital in promoting safe turtle watching and respect for the Marine Park. Every week our team took turn to go to different resorts to brief tourists on Marine Park rules, such as wearing life jackets and swimming in the buoy line, as well as not disturbing marine wildlife around the Perhentians. A The resorts were very supportive and had provided space for our team to set up a booth and gathered their tourists for briefing (Fig. 10). There were two snorkel tours daily and we arranged to brief the tourists before snorkel tours and stayed on to brief any by-pass tourists. In addition to our snorkel survey, we painted “Please Do Not Touch The B Turtle” on our kayak and kayaked around Turtle Bay to spread awareness to those snorkelling in the area to Figure 10. A moveable information board for our see turtles. weekly awareness campaign at different resorts (A-B); As there are at least 40 resorts, chalets, dive centres they joined us on a snorkel survey. at Perhentian Islands, posters and buntings providing information on eco-friendly turtle watch practices in the Awareness comes after knowledge and providing waters and on land, as well as photo identification research information and knowledge is essential to encourage were distributed around the islands, including the shops at eco-friendly behaviours towards the environment. the mainland jetty, to spread the awareness. Information Engaging the public in research and conservation efforts board and turtle exhibit was set up at some resorts so that not only creates awareness but also helps promote such tourists can read and learn about sea turtles at all time. behaviours. The implementation of eco-friendly snorkel Tourists would also visit our project to understand more practices is possible with the cooperation of both the about the research and conservation work and at times snorkel guides/boatmen and tourists. 14 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT C D E F G H Figure 10 (Continued). A booth during World Ocean Day to the hatchery (F); While conducting snorkel surveys, organised by Department of Marine Park (C); A turtle our team kayaked around the feeding ground to bulletin board and mini exhibit display at a resort (D); spread awareness (G); A group of tourists joining us on Buntings put up at various locations around the islands a snorkel survey (H). to raise awareness (E); A educational visit with tourists 15 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Turtle Camp We believe in conservation through education. Two 2D1N turtle camps were organised in collaboration with Bubbles Turtle and Coral Project for the local primary school children, aged 9-11 years old. The first camp was conducted in conjunction to World Turtle Day in May and the second camp was conducted in October, both at a A nesting beach named Tanjung Tukas. The camp aimed to educate the local children about sea turtles and the importance to protect these species through various games and activities indoor and on the beach. The children were taught about sea turtle species, their life cycle, importance to the ecosystems and humans, B as well as the threats that endanger sea turtles. They were also shown how turtle researchers collect data and were taught to measure the carapace and collect eggs from a mock nest (Fig. 11). At night, the children each coloured a turtle mask and in groups took turn to patrol the beach. One by one they C carefully removed the eggs from the nest to be relocated to the hatchery. For most children, it was their first time seeing a turtle coming ashore to lay eggs and despite the darkness, most of them were excited about the experience. Figure 11. A presentation to explain to the local school children about sea turtles (A); A kid colouring his turtle mask while waiting for his group’s turn to patrol the beach at night (B); Games and activities on the beach the resembled the sea turtle life cycle and the threats they face throughout their life journey (C-D); 16 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT On the second day, we did a recap of what they had learned. The children were also taught about coral reefs and the importance to protect the reefs that serve as habitats to marine life. It is important to educate the future generation to create awareness and cultivate behaviours that are environmental friendly. Turtle egg consumption, a tradition among the local villagers who perceive it as D food source, is threatening the survival of the sea turtles. We hope that through education and awareness that the number of locals who consume turtle eggs will reduce. Besides the presence of coral reefs, including sea turtles, is vital to the local villagers whose livelihoods rely on tourism activities. E Figure 11 (Continued). Games and activities on the beach the resembled the sea turtle life cycle and the threats they face throughout their life journey (C-D); Everyone gathered behind the turtle while she was laying eggs (E); A group photo with the turtle masks on (F). F 17 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT A D Cleanup We had done several cleanups around the islands throughout the season (Fig. 12), mainly tackling the nesting beach at Tiga Ruang, as rubbish and even sand B castles can obstruct the way and impede movement and sight of nesting turtles and hatchlings. Most rubbish was either left behind or being washed up to the beach. Therefore, regular cleanup is necessary to ensure the beach is kept clean and safe. Figure 12. Regular cleanups around the islands. C 18 2015 OVERVIEW REPORT Conclusion Using photo identification as an individual identification method has enabled us to better understand the foraging and nesting populations of sea turtles at Perhentian Islands Marine Park, such as their population size, sex ratios, habitat use, distribution, movement patterns. The preliminary findings were used to develop a sea turtle photo database of the islands, which can be expanded to include a wider geographical range. Therefore, the project aims to develop an online database to enable sharing of data with others. The project was set up to collaborate in conservation efforts with the relevant stakeholders, including governmental agencies, NGOs, local villagers, business entities and tourists, to conserve sea turtles and protect their habitats. Collaborative efforts are challenging as it is essential to consider the needs and interests of all parties and take appropriate measures to achieve conservation objectives. The project also serves as a platform that brings different stakeholders to work together. For instance, through the weekly awareness campaign, resorts and dive centres started to inform us on sea turtle related issues, such as reporting on a sighting of dead turtle, when a turtle climbs ashore to lay eggs, etc. This information will be recorded and reported to the authority. Through the help and cooperation of all parties, the research and conservation efforts increase. Due to limited manpower and fund, we were not able survey all the sites on the islands but the survey efforts to collect research data were increased due to the involvement of all parties. By engaging the public in conservation efforts like surveys, cleanups, etc, people gain knowledge and experience which increase their awareness towards the animals and environment. Ongoing monitoring for a longer period is needed to determine the population trends. Conservation measures should also include protecting the sea turtles in the sea and their marine habitat. Everyone plays an important role in conserving these species because conservation work is not a one-man show but together, we can help to ensure the survival of sea turtles while sustaining the livelihoods of the people. 19 Visit our website and Facebook page for more information : www.perhentianturtleproject.com www.facebook.com/perhentianturtleproject Check out the video for our project here : http://youtu.be/JrmPQug63PE For further inquiries reach us at: [email protected]