Conservation program boosts turtle numbers
Photograph - Mila Zinkova
A three-decade long conservation program to protect and rebuild populations of the endangered Green Turtle has started to boost turtle numbers in a dramatic fashion. Baguan, one of the Philippine Islands, has seen a baby boom of 1.44 million eggs laid last year, which was the highest yield since records began in 1984. With a survival rate to adulthood of around 1%, the baby boom will hopefully lead to a boost of approximately 14,000 green turtles to the worldwide population.
"We are seeing very stable increases in their populations around the world and... this is a very important contribution," said Conservation International's Philippines Executive Director Romeo Trono, referring to the Turtle Islands Sanctuary which exists on both sides of the Philippine-Malaysia Maritime Border. The Green Turtle is currently listed as 'endangered', but it is hoped that building upon such progress will allow the species to be upgraded from 'endangered' to merely 'vulnerable'.
Despite legislative protection, turtles are hunted as food, poached by locals and foreign fishermen alike, and are frequently inadvertently caught in fishing nets. Development of beaches for the tourist trade has often also led to their breeding grounds being wiped out, and their eggs are also considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia. However, the success of this conservation program indicates that their decline can be reversed. "The increasing nest numbers show that when turtles are protected on their nesting beaches and in the water for long enough, they will recover." explained Bryan Wallace, a marine scientist with Conservation International.
Mr Trono speculated that the Baguan population could be one of the largest concentrations of Green Turtles in the world. Similar conservation efforts are also underway in Costa Rica and Australia, and Ascension Island in the South Atlantic also has a large population. As Green Turtles can live for 80-100 years, it is hoped that the impacts of this boom will continue to be felt for the rest of the century.
