Wednesday August 18, 4:40 PM

Malaysia's sea turtles are "on the brink of collapse," scientists say

Several species of sea turtles in Malaysia could vanish in a few years, largely due to illegal poaching of the creatures and their eggs, scientists warned on Wednesday.

At least three turtle populations _ the leatherback, the olive ridley and the hawksbill _ "are on the brink of collapse, which could lead to a biodiversity crisis" in the Southeast Asian nation, international turtle scientists said in a statement after a conference on conservation efforts.

The sea turtles also nest in other countries, but scientists at the conference focused on the situation in Malaysia, where sea turtles have existed virtually unchanged for more than 100 million years.

But in recent years, human activity, including shoreline development, fishing, pollution and the taking of eggs _ considered an aphrodisiac in some parts of Asia _ has increasingly threatened the creatures.

"Many populations (in Malaysia) are in danger of extinction and could be gone in a few years if there is no urgent and effective action," the conference statement said.

The number of leatherback nests in the northeastern Terengganu state, where most of the turtles visit, has fallen from more than 10,000 a few decades ago to less than 10 in recent years, it added.

The scientists called on Malaysian authorities to establish more nesting sites as sanctuaries, improve environmental protection laws and provide alternative income sources for people who harvest turtle eggs for sale.

The Malaysian-based WorldFish Center and the Malaysian chapter of the Worldwide Fund for Nature organized the conference.


SOURCE

Thats very sad!!! lets hope that the local people people take some effective action to save these beautiful creatures! We have no right to cause a species to become extinct. We can save these creatures and we better, its our responsibility!!!

With huge population in China and generally in Asia where turtle soup is a delicacy and other animals products are aphrodisiac to them ,I'm very pesimistic about turtles future and other animals . .They will soon destroy their forests and shore line .

poor things