Balinese culinary tastes threaten endangered turtles

By I Wayan Juniarta

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): It was midnight. Putu Liza Kusuma Mustika, a turtle conservationist, was startled by a phone call from her colleague urging her to rush to the nearby Kuta beach.

On the phone was Nyoman Gede Sugiharta, another conservationist, telling her that a rare olive ridley's (Lepidochelys olivacea), was spotted landing on the beach and had laid about 100 eggs.

"Come quickly, the turtle is in danger as there are dozens of people trying to steal her eggs. Some have even considered killing the poor creature," Sugiharta said frantically.

Although Liza ran as fast as she could, it was too late. Just an hour earlier, the crowd had taken all the eggs with them.

Luckily some conservationists quickly pushed the mother turtle back into the sea to save her from the greedy slaughterers.

"I had no choice but force her back into the water, knowing that some might try to catch this poor animal," complained Supriyadi.

But Liza was still hopeful. She ran after the crowd and tried to persuade one of them to return those valuable eggs of one of the most endangered turtle species for breeding and scientific purposes. She was quite happy to be given eight of the 100 eggs. These "rescued" eggs were then buried in a hidden spot somewhere along Kuta Beach.

The above story shows how threatened the turtles in Bali are and the local people's ignorance in protecting these endangered species.

"It is a pity since the island of Bali has been a very special place for the turtles," Liza said.

The five different species of turtles found in Bali, namely the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and olive ridley's (Lepidochelys olivacea) annually lay their eggs in the warm sandy beaches here. Other turtle species such as the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) swim in the waters off Bali to feed on marine life.

Clearly, Bali is not a safe place for these turtles or penyu, as they are preyed upon by humans, in addition to facing natural environmental hazards.

For many Balinese, particularly those living in the southern part of the island, turtles make delicious and healthy meals. Their turtle-eating habit have been around for hundreds of years. They eat turtle's meat and drink its fresh blood to enhance their physical and mental condition.

Traditional dishes like lawar (raw vegetables mixed with meat and fresh chicken, pig or turtle blood) and sate penyu (roasted turtle meat) are popular delicacies served to respected guests during various ceremonies.

The Balinese turtle eating-habit has seriously threatened the survival of the turtles here, especially the green turtles.

The green turtle population in the tiny island of Serangan, about 12 kilometers east of Denpasar, has vanished because they had been poached and consumed by the locals.

Despite the decreasing number in the turtle population, demand for their meat is still very high. To meet the increasing demand, local turtle dealers and poachers are hunting these animals from neighboring islands of Lombok and West Nusa Tenggara to the most remote places in Sulawesi, Maluku and West Papua.

The poaching of turtles has caused tensions between Bali and its surrounding islands.

In l991, Bali got 24,157 turtles from the other islands. The numbers dropped significantly from 14,260 in l997 to only 6,987 in l998.

"We are not happy with the falling number of turtles traded in Bali ," said World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Wallacea Bioregion deputy director Ketut Sarjana Putra.

The decrease in turtle trade does not indicate that the Balinese have stopped eating turtles but rather that the number of turtles in the wild have dramatically dropped due to illegal poaching.

Yet, according to a report prepared by the Animal Conservation for Life (KSBK) last year, in the period between May and August 1999 about 9,418 turtles were slaughtered and traded.

The report also estimated that about 27,000 turtles were slaughtered in 1999.

The organization also discovered that there were 11 pens for captured turtles and 15 boats for poaching in the Tanjung Benoa and South Denpasar area. There were also 32 restaurants and food stalls that sold food made of turtle's meat here.

The most shocking part of the report was that most of the turtles traded in Tanjung Benoa had about 80 cm to 90 cm long shells, which signifies that they were about 30 years old. It was reported that between May and August 1999, at least 3,398 turtles of that size were traded.

Trading or slaughtering turtles during that period breaks their reproductive cycle.

One way of protecting the turtles is by a behavioral change.

A notable Hindu high priest Ida Pedanda Gde Ngurah Kaleran of Sanur explained that there is no obligation for the Balinese to consume or use turtle meat as part of their offering.

"Hindu rituals only require about 500 turtles each year, not thousands of them," he reminded.

The priest also referred to a text in the Hindu holy book which allows people to substitute the offerings of the endangered animals with their symbols or pictures.

One of the most active organizations in turtle conservation, WWF Wallacea Bioregion, realized that their objective could only be reached through increasing the awareness of the Balinese, providing new jobs for hundreds of turtle poachers and committed law enforcement.

WWF was encouraged when a group of former turtle poachers founded a turtle conservation group called Kurma Asih at Perancak, a coastal area some 100 kilometers west of Denpasar, in l997. With WWF's technical assistance, the group constructed a turtle conservation facility comprising several hatcheries and growing tanks.

The group is now working to protect the olive ridley's, leatherback and hawksbill egg-laying grounds along the Perancak beach.

Under the group's constant supervision 2,159 hatchlings have been released to the ocean, while 40 olive ridley's and 10 leatherback hatchlings are being bred for scientific studies.

For their work, the group was awarded the 2000 National Award for Coastal Conservation.

"Another good news is that the traditional village community Desa Adat of Tanjung Benoa has expressed its willingness to stop the turtle trade," Liza said.

With such conservation efforts, the future of the turtle in Bali may seem brighter.