Thai Navy Launches Sea Turtle Conservation Program

In Thailand...The navy is protecting thousands of baby sea turtles from being killed by humans before they can swim out to sea. When the sun sets at Khram Island, dozens of mature green sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs.

The isolated island, 30 kilometers from the busy tourist beach town of Pattaya, is the largest nesting site of sea turtles in the Gulf of Thailand.

A green turtle has to mate with at least five partners before nesting. But once that happens a turtle can carry up to 170 eggs throughout the year, always returning to the island of its original birthplace to hatch. After the first nesting, the sea turtles take up to three years before the next round of nesting.

But sea turtles in Thailand are often killed by humans for their meat, their eggs which are a delicacy, and their shells which are considered precious. Many sea turtles also drown when they get caught in fishing nets during migration. Although protected by the Fisheries Act of Thailand, the sea turtle population continues to decrease.

Now the Thai navy has launched a nurturing program to protect the turtles. A sharp metal stick is used to find nesting eggs.[Tosporn Osathanond, Sea Turtle Conservation Center]: "We observe the sand. If the sand is softer, we will dig it. If we find turtle eggs, we will move all the eggs to the front beach for further nurturing." Sixty-centimeter-deep sand holes are encircled by man-made pens designed to protect dozens of eggs about to hatch next to the sea. The pens are tagged with the number of eggs, the date of nesting and the expected birth date. Once born, the new baby turtles are collected and moved to tanks where they are given special care by the navy - from a good brushing off of sand to feeding and even applying anti-fungus cream to the turtle's mouth.

Deputy director of the Thai Navy's Sea Turtle Conservation Center, Captain Aran Jiemyuu, says sea turtles have not reached a critical level of being endangered in Thailand. But the number of sea turtles has increased since the project was set up in 1992. [Capt. Winai Klom, Sea Turtle Specialist]:"Because humans destroy nature, natural conservation practices should begin with humans. Humans have to revive the deteriorated nature by themselves as humans were the main cause." Once the baby turtles' shells are big and strong enough to protect them from various predators, at about six-months-old, the young turtles are released to the sea.

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