Community protects green sea turtles

Yes, Penghu was named by Lonely Planet as one of the 10 best secret islands in the globe in its Best Travel in 2011. Try it for yourself.


By June Tsai

Upon entering the "Green Sea Turtle Tourism and Conservation Center" on Wang-an, a part of the Penghu Islands, a large stone tablet commands the attention of visitors.

The words inscribed on the tablet, the center's prize artifact, tell visitors there was a time when the locals ignorantly killed cows that became too old to work and sea turtles. Erected in 1880, the tablet records a story: A few influential persons among the local population created a fund and petitioned the authorities, then of the Chinese Ching Dynasty (1644-1911), to prohibit such killings. Part of the fund was used as a grant for releasing sea turtles and another part was used to pay people to remove litter and keep old cows. To guard against violations of the law, a patrol was implemented. In effect, the tablet represented the law and violators would be punished.

Excavated in 1996 near a section of ancient wall, the tablet was moved to the conservation center for permanent exhibition in 2002 when the center was founded. The tablet is believed to be the earliest evidence of conservationism in the island's history.

A hundred years after the tablet was created, green sea turtles, large marine reptiles accustomed to tropical and subtropical oceans, became an endangered species protected by law in many countries, including Taiwan.

Wang-an Island, literally "making one feel peaceful by just looking at it," is a picturesque islet 25 nautical miles off Taiwan's west coast, with around 800 residents. It was one of only two islands in Taiwan where green sea turtles still build their nests, Cheng I-jiunn, a professor of marine biology at National Taiwan Ocean University, said July 25. The other is Orchid Island, to the southeast of Taiwan proper. Cheng and his team conduct field research on green turtles each summer.

The 7-square-kilometer Wang-an Island of volcanic rocks made a perfect breeding ground for green sea turtles, Cheng said. Its stretches of beach with fine quartz sand and debris from shells and coral reefs, the year-round warm weather and its remoteness, in particular, are the main reasons green turtles choose the island to lay eggs.

"Green turtles are highly loyal to their origins," Cheng said. Mother turtles swam back to the beaches where they were hatched to breed their offspring. Green turtles were "picky" with the breeding environment.

Seen on many of Taiwan's outlying islands in the past, green turtles disappeared about 20 years ago. They still appeared in Wang-an Island, yet in reduced numbers. Pollution, destructive fishing methods and development projects, such as building jetties, are several reasons that contribute to the destruction of green turtles' terrestrial and marine habitats, resulting in their decimation.

Describing the big animal as shy and sensitive, Cheng said a mother turtle looking for a breeding place was easily scared away by light, noise or other human interference. Streetlights could also misguide the vulnerable baby turtles that just broke out of their shells and, through instinct, would head for the ocean by following the moonlight.

Only one out of 1,000 hatchlings will mature to adulthood, a process that takes 20 to 50 years. The growth rate might be even lower in recent years. The biggest threat nowadays is climate change, which makes their food sources scarce, Cheng said, estimating there were 200,000 green turtles worldwide.

Placing emphasis on the species' natural habitats, Penghu County Government designated beaches on Wang-an as a green turtle conservation area in 1995, in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act. A veterinary station was established in 1997 to take care of injured turtles.

Warning boards were erected to warn people not to enter beaches without permission. A conservation group was formed among local volunteers to assist in patrolling the beaches during the nighttime. And in 2002, the tourism and conservation center was established to integrate these projects.

For Taiwanese, Wang-an has become synonymous with a home for green turtles. This did not come about easily, as conservation projects encountered resistance from the very beginning, according to Cheng, who started researching green sea turtles 16 years ago.

People protested the no-entry rule, saying these beaches are public space and should be open to everyone, not just to researchers. "For local residents, beaches are like their backyards; you cannot ban people from entering their backyards," Cheng said.

Conservationists eventually persuaded local people to take part in the conservation efforts. The no-entry rule was implemented only in the breeding season, which is between May and October on Wang-an. Beaches are accessible in the daytime. They become protected areas after 8 p.m.

Guided turtle-watching tours are available on Wang-an if reserved in advance. Cheng was optimistic about developing ecotourism, because if done properly, "they would help achieve the goal of turtle conservation."

At dawn on July 26, a mother turtle crawled toward the sea before the eyes of a group of conservationists, carrying a GPS transmitter that Cheng and his team had placed on her. She had just laid around 130 eggs in a nest the night before. Her right leg carried a tag with a number, which meant she had laid eggs on Wang-an some years ago.

"For turtles and humans to feel at peace on the same beach ... this should be our future," Cheng said.

This article first appeared in Taiwan Journal Aug. 31, 2007.