Help Our Penyu

The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is blessed to have been the breeding ground for turtles for centuries, however, rapid development and climate change are quickly changing this. Recently, Daniel Quilter and Wan Ahmad Azimi bin Wan Azmin, the cool dudes from Help Our Penyu (HOPE) dropped by the Integricity office to share on turtle conservation. HOPE collaborates with the Government to help preserve the survival of these unique creatures.

A fellow family member, Chui from Integricity Technology tells us his experience at a short-term nature conservation volunteer programme organized by HOPE.

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Mid of last year, my Director, Jek Tan invited me to participate in the Nature Interpreters Program (NIP). Without hesitating, I immediately said YES to the 7-day programme which was held in Bubbles Resort, Pulau Perhentian.

After a few weeks and rounds of discussions with the other participants, the day finally arrived.

This is our flight (Firefly ATR-72) to Kota Bahru. We then commuted to Kuala Besut Jetty, and from there took a 45-minute boat ride to Bubbles Resort.

Upon arriving, we met the programme coordinator, Daniel Quilter and were briefed on the itinerary. Among the activities we participated in were:

• Beach Cleaning
• River Discharging
• Turtle/Poacher watch
• Jungle trekking
• Rocky Shore study
• Reef Check

Out of all the activities above, the one I liked most was the Turtle/Poacher watch.  Every night, we took turns to patrol the beach for turtles landing to lay eggs. We were divided into 2 shifts, which started at 11pm and lasted till 7am. Initially, it was a horrifying experience as we had to patrol the pitch-dark beach with just small torch lights covered with red filters to reduce light intensity.

On the first two days, we failed to spot any turtles, but our luck came on the third day.  We heard sand being kicked from deep inside the swamp beside the beach. Out of curiosity, my patrol partner and I decided to head to the dark swamp. When we got there, we saw the shadow of a turtle digging the egg nest. We ran back to the resort and conveyed the news to Daniel, and soon we were back at the nest with measuring tapes and a plastic slate to take down the turtle dimensions. The people from the fishery department came soon after that to collect the eggs to be hatched in their center.

As you can see in the pictures above, we measured the turtle’s size and determined its species based on tracks left in the sand.  It was a Greenback turtle, which is listed as endangered by the IUCN and CITES, and is protected from exploitation in most countries: it is illegal to collect, harm or kill them. Our final task was to cover the turtle’s tracks on the sand to avoid it from being spotted by illegal poachers, who come to steal the remaining eggs.

The programme changed my perception; from a yet-another-boring-volunteer-program to a fun and meaningful 7-day programme! On the final day, I felt heavy hearted to leave and go back to my daily rat-race life.

I feel very sad that turtle conservation awareness is almost nonexistent in our society. Many years ago, turtles could be seen landing in the mainland, Rantau Abang in Terengganu, but now, there is none. The authorities should increase awareness of this programme, or else, future generations would only be able to see turtles in pictures, like how we are only able to see dinosaurs in ancient sketchings.

Chui Joo Seng
Vice President
Integricity Technology

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Although we would like to, not all of us are able to participate in the volunteer programmes. Nevertheless, you can still contribute by purchasing items here, such as these cute Aman Cinta Penyu (translated as: Peace Love Turtles) T-shirts to help fund turtle conservation efforts.

For more up-to-date news of the programme, please visit the HOPE Facebook page.