How we bring the turtles back to Ko Tao?

[Sandman77]

Just come back, from my 8. Trip in 10 year from the lovely Ko Tao after visiting nearly every corner of Thailand , this still my favorite island and phangan also !

Now I want find out, when the turtles disappear on this island?

Because I also not see them in the first year of visit in 2004!

When I was informed right ,about the reason of the turtles disappear in Tao some bisness people put spotlights to the ocean side, for my understanding a turtle is controlled by the moonlight and was thinking the spots are the moon

Leave the turtle baby behind this reason of the disappear

I read in a book!

But best question now, how we can bring the turtles back?

[Sandman77]

I forget Pictures , the peer before I leave and thunderstorm

Coming one day later and alot of Falangs going to the boat

[Tropicalevo]

Sorry Sandman - but the only way to ensure that the turtles come back and have a good long life is to kill all of the fishermen.

I am told that turtle meat is very tasty.

[impulse]

They'll come back on their own.

Ya just gotta quit killing the ones that do show up, and quit digging up their eggs.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/652562-thai-islands-named-as-vital-wetlands/

Edited July 10, 2013 by impulse

[sergun]

Wouldn't bringing turtles back solve box-jellyfish problem? Also it would probably be good for tourism, I imagine, making swiming safer and more scenic, so to speak.

Is there organization that can put pressure on local government to stop fishermen from catching turtles? It seems to me that benefits outweigh losses - on one hand fishermen would lose few tens of thousand bahts from turtle trade, on the other hand - local economy will win much more from tourism.

Now, it got me wondering if I could set up a non-profit sea turtle farm. It could become tourist attraction in itself (I've seen smth similar in the Caribbean), at the same time helping box-jellyfish problem and making swimming more aesthetically pleasing.

Any ideas, anyone?

[Tropicalevo]

Sadly, this one is probably on the 'too hard' list.

Killing turtles is illegal. So is killing monitor lizards, squirrels, snakes, pangolins etc etc

But people do it all of the time. For both food and money.

It needs a huge education program to show locals the benifits of preserving wildlife. Then you need to educate tourists that go spearfishing/snorkeling/diving.

Then the whole thing needs policing and that takes a shed-load of money called taxes. Which most people do not pay here in Thailand.

I guess that I will not be seeing "Turtles at Toa" in my lifetime.

[sergun]

Thanks for input Tropicalevo!

Can you (or anyone else familiar with doing things in Samui), tell me if license would be required and its cost - to run a non-profit turtle farm (all turtles would be released in the sea). I have looked on internet, looks like it is not that difficult to operate such farm. The only pain in neck would probably be local bureucrats.

I think I'll give it a try sometime in the future, sounds like a good hobby to me

[Tropicalevo]

I do not really have experience of this in Thailand, but a few sites to look at

http://www.lagunaphuket.com/CSR/current-projects/project6.php

I believe that these guys are still doing on Phuket.

http://www.naucrates.org/

Still active but based in the UK

http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/marine-conservation-thailand/conservation-projects/sea-turtle-headstarting/

Again, still active and based in Koh Tao

http://www.marineconservationkohtao.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=79

not sure how recent this one is

You might be able to link up with one of these.

The Thai Fisheries departemnt are keen to do things, but you would need to speak Thai to work with them.

[evadgib]

To be fair the authorities & schoolchildren collect eggs & release Hatchlings on Koh Tao annually; according to footage released around HM's birthday. I can't remember how many but it was upwards of 1000.

Edited July 11, 2013 by evadgib

[marstons]

Whilst they are a source of income and nettted not much chance.

Many sea turtles are hunted. Their meat and eggs are used for cooking, their carapaces are turned into decorations and their skin is turned into leather. More importantly, their fat can be used as ingredient for soap or expensive perfumes.
Humans:
Sea Turtles, especially Leatherback Turtle, eat plastic bags because they think that these are jellyfish.
Sea Turtles are frequently caught in fishing nets and drown; and yes, sea turtles do drown because they also breath through their nose.
Polluted water and polluted beaches.

[sergun]

Tropicalevo, thanks for the links - a good place to start

From what I hear from you and Marstons, more work needs to be done in protecting turtles in the wild than raising them.

I wonder if any of these solutions wud work:

1) Tag some turtles with microchips, so it wud be easier to catch those who catch turtles

2) Make all turtles a Government property, and whoever gets cought with turtles would have to pay lets say 10x market price - thus motivating local police/government to catch perpetrators and raise money for the local Gov or/and some bribes for themselves.

A while ago, I used to work on a fishing boat in the US. Once we cought more fish than our license allowed, and somehow local marine police cought us, my boss got fined so much that it stopped him from ever doing it again. I'm sure this prevention tactic works, the only problem is to make local police to cooperate