Wildlife conservation

Of the 7 species of marine turtles in the world, 4 species land and lay their eggs on Malaysian beaches. These are the Leatherback turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Green turtle and Olive Ridley turtle, all endangered species as classified in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

On 31 May 1996, the governments of Malaysia and Philippines established the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA) at the Philippines-Sabah Turtle Islands group, the world's first trans-frontier protected area for sea turtles. The TIHPA is jointly managed by both countries and seeks to conserve the habitats and sea turtles over a large area independent of their territorial boundaries. The Turtle Islands are now Southeast Asia's single most important green turtle conservation area.

Recent data on turtle nesting in Malaysia shows that the giant leatherback turtle, once a major tourist attraction in Rantau Abang, 56 km south of KT, has almost disappeared from Malaysian beaches with a 99% decline in the number of nests compared to 30 years ago. Giant leatherbacks are completely protected in Terengganu and it is illegal to harm them or eat their eggs.  The number of Olive Ridley turtles has also declined significantly, with 88% fewer nests compared to 30 years ago.

One of the biggest contributors to the significant decline of the turtle population has been over-harvesting of turtle eggs driven by local market demand. Turtles have to lay a lot of eggs to increase their chances of survival because there are many natural predators. Many eggs are dug up and eaten by animals like monitor lizards. Those that hatch have to make a run across the beach into the sea, and many perish on the beach when attacked by birds or other terrestrial predators. Even for hatchlings that make it into the sea, many are eaten by ocean predators. Dogged by so many threats, it is estimated that only 1 in every 1000 or more hatchlings survive long enough to make it to adulthood, which can take anywhere between 20-50 years. Their strategy for survival as a species depends on many being hatched in the hope that a few will live long enough to continue their cycle of life. So when humans poach turtle eggs we are reducing their chances of survival as a species.

Another factor contributing to their decline is fishing. Marine turtles are highly migratory ocean-going reptiles and fall prey to fishermen or poachers who hunt them for their meat or to use their shells as ornaments. Some also perish when they get trapped in commercial fishing nets and drown or die when they eat litter like plastic bags or other trash.

Other reasons for their decline include excessive coastal development which destroys their nesting beaches, destruction of their food sources (corals and sea grasses) and marine pollution.

Seatru (sea turtle research unit)

Redang Island has the largest green turtle rookery in Peninsular Malaysia. If you see a turtle in Redang, it is most likely to be a Green or Hawksbill turtle. Dr. Chan Eng-Heng from UMT (University Malaysia Terengganu) in KT run the Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group formerly known as SEATRU (Sea Turtle Research Unit) which conducts conservation research on nesting populations of green and hawksbill turtles at Chagar Hutang, a stretch of beach about 300m long at the northern side of Redang. During peak nesting months of June and July, nesting densities can reach between 5-15 per night. SEATRU staff and volunteers ensure that eggs are incubated in-situ where the eggs are left untouched in their natural nests, protected from natural predators like monitor lizards and allowed to incubate to full-term.

Mak Daerah turtle sanctuary

Other than SEATRU, another centre dedicated to the protection and conservation of sea turtles in Malaysia is the the Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary Centre. It is located between Paka and Kertih in Terengganu and is only part of a 10km stretch of green turtle nesting beach. The sanctuary is not open to the public, but you can sign up and visit as a research volunteer with the 'Weekend with the Turtles Program'.

The Marine Park Regulations in Redang do not explicitly state anything about feeding fishes. In many locations elsewhere, fish feeding is restricted or prohibited, including the Egyptian coasts of the Red Sea, many locations in Hawaii, and several National Marine Sanctuaries. In the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, shark feeding is prohibited and fish feeding is allowed but only under permit and tight restriction. More recently, Florida & Hawaii in the US have now imposed state bans on marine wildlife feeding by divers, thus terminating 'interactive diving' tours (commercial fish-feeding dive tours).

The issue of fish feeding, and in particular, shark feeding, continues to be a controversial issue in many parts of the world. In Redang, many snorkellers enjoy feeding bread to the smaller reef fishes. Most fish feeding take place at the Marine Park Centre, where there is a large concentration of many different species of fish. There are no fish-feeding dive tours at Redang.

The arguments for and against fish feeding are reflected here, though they should also be seen in the context of organized feeding of large predatory fishes like groupers and sharks which do not take place in Redang. I leave it to visitors to consider for themselves the points presented below and whether they should participate in fish-feeding activities in Redang.

Pro-feeding view

• Marine animals are opportunistic feeders and the small amount of food offered does not foster dependency on humans. In Redang, feeding is only limited to the non-monsoon months, so fishes will still need to learn to forage naturally during the monsoon season.
• Feeding has educational benefits for those participating and observing. They learn to appreciate the beauty and diversity of marine life, care for them and become strong supporters of marine conservation.
• Feeding creates close bonds between people and animals. Such close bonds can have therapeutic effects on people, such as relieving stress and lowering blood pressure.
• Feeding is not dangerous and there has yet to be a fatality, even in shark-feeding.

Conservationist view

• Feeding unnatural food to marine life will harm them because they are not equipped to digest or process such food. Excessive carbohydrates are known to be unhealthy for marine fishes. Worse, sometimes stale or mouldy bread is used for feeding.
• Feeding disrupts normal feeding patterns and affects natural behaviour. It leads to a reduced ability to capture natural food, makes them dependent on people and lose their natural wariness of people, leading to aggressive behaviour that could harm humans. We have experienced fishes at a deserted Shark Bay in late October following us wherever we snorkelled though we did not carry any food - certainly unnatural behaviour! The U.S. National Park Service banned the feeding of wildlife in all areas under its jurisdiction, including underwater areas in Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Biscayne Bay due to scientific evidence supporting these claims.
• Feeding can be dangerous especially when large animals like sharks, big groupers and giant moray eels are involved. Although no fatalities have occurred, divers have been injured, sometimes seriously, while feeding.
• Feeding upsets the natural ecology of the area especially when large predators gather in a particular area waiting to be fed and end up reducing stocks of fish in that area.
• Feeding promotes unnatural aggregation of fish species and can skew data collection of fish species and their numbers.
• Feeding can result in litter ending up in the sea in the form of food plastic bags left behind.

Taking into account the pros and cons of fish-feeding, perhaps a compromise is to restrict fish-feeding in Redang, allowing feeding of 'safe' fish foods only in certain places like the Marine Park Centre.

Other than insects, spiders, lizards, frogs and toads, the animals most visitors are likely to encounter are squirrels and monkeys. There are no rules or regulations governing the feeding of local terrestrial animals in Redang and none are protected nor considered endangered. As conservation is about our attitude toward the natural world around us and not something we think about only when species become endangered, if you do feed, please do so responsibly for your own safety and that of the animal, bearing in mind the following:

• One runs the risk of getting bitten when feeding by hand or when one is trying to remove food offered to the animal (such as when 'teasing' the animal).
• Feeding animals inappropriate food (e.g. salty, sugary, fatty, those containing preservatives etc.) may harm them.
• Overfeeding will make them overly-dependent on humans for food which might make them aggressive when they are not fed.
• Leaving uneaten or unwanted food around will attract other animals and insects (rats, cockroaches, flies etc.) and leftover food should be properly disposed.

Be careful of the wild monkeys! Do not feed or taunt them as they can be very aggressive. Feeding them breeds boldness - they might venture close to resorts and humans and become a nuisance when they harass people or steal your personal belongings.