Massive hunt for green turtles continues in Runduma island
Massive hunt for green turtles continues in Runduma island
By Ashari Usman
BUTON, Southeast Sulawesi (Antara): They are protected by the environmental law, but the species, as well as the eggs, are a hot commodity here.
Children in Runduma island, some 42 kilometers south of Tomia island, Buton regency, sell a green turtle egg for only Rp 500 (US 6 cents).
Runduma is part of the Wakatobi chain of islands, which in the past was popularly known as the Tukang Besi islands. Runduma is also part of the Wakatobi Sea National Park.
A number of children in the region sell turtle eggs caught by their parents while they play. Their main targeted customers are visitors, who come to the island especially during insemination period of the turtle.
For turtle hunters, the offer is tempting. They will not buy the eggs from the children, but directly ask the whereabouts of their parents, who may have a huge number of eggs or even keep green turtles with them.
Head of Southeast Sulawesi's National Resources Conservation, Gunung W. Sinaga, said most of the turtles sold by local people are green turtles (chelonia mydas), while others are scaly turtles.
Both green and scaly turtles are protected by law. Government Decree No. 7/1999 on the protection of plants and animals stipulates that a person catching green or scaly turtles will face fines and jail.
Unfortunately, there has been no accurate statistics or estimates of the number of green turtles caught.
Southeast Sulawesi is known as one of the biggest suppliers of green turtles for Bali, where the demand for turtles is high. Balinese offer the turtles in numerous rituals and religious ceremonies.
Most of the turtles are caught in their natural habitat, and only a small number of them come from the hatching place.
"There is only one hatching place in Southeast Sulawesi. It can only supply 200 green turtle per year, while the overall number of turtles sold to Bali can be 10 times its capacity," Sinaga said.
Illegal hunting of green turtles and their eggs is difficult to stop and can threaten the survival of the species.
The head of the Wakatobi National Park, Haryanto, said recently that there are some obstacles to efforts to conserve the park's environment. He cited the limited number of employees: Only 50 staff members handle the 1.39 million-hectare area, which includes dozens of small islands.
"We are outnumbered and equipped only with poor communication equipment. How can we effectively safeguard the area?"
In the meantime, Haryanto said, his staff's performance is poor, especially in preventing the hunt for the turtles catching the hunters.
Sharing Haryanto's point of view, Sinaga said it is difficult to stop the massive turtle hunt as the hunters are local people who live in the coastal regions, while the number of police rangers and equipment is limited.
He said the Southeast Sulawesi police rangers earlier this month seized 125 green turtles from residents of Torokeke village in Tinanggea subdistrict.
"However, the number of turtles seized is small compared with the ones sold in Bali," he said.
Instead of Runduma, hunters also look for turtles in Moromaho Island and two tiny neighboring islands, as well as Kentiolo and Cowocowo islands. All islands are part of the Wakatobi National park.
Outside the national park, turtles can be found in the Tiworo chain of islands -- Padamarang and Wawonii -- and Lasolo and Tinanggea subdistricts.
According to Sinaga, a number of ships frequently sail through the islands to procure green turtles at Rp 75,000 (US$9.4) to Rp 150,000 per turtle with back width of more than 50 centimeters.
Southeast Sulawesi islands and coastal regions, with clean white sand, are likely the best area for the green turtle to lay their eggs and raise their babies.
Controlled hunt
Sinaga, therefore, suggested that the central government give local people permission to hunt the turtles, but only in limited numbers and in certain places, to give people a sense of ownership of the nation's resources and to help safeguard the protected animals.
"It's not wrong for the government to let the people take or hunt the wild animals as long as the numbers are limited and the area is determined," he said.
Sinaga's proposal, however, was challenged by Southeast Sulawesi Governor La Ode Kaimoeddin, who insisted that green turtles and other protected animals must be protected.
"We have to remain firm against hunters of protected animals. Police rangers must have courage to capture such hunters as the local administration will be behind them," Kaimoeddin said recently.