18 Aug 2008
WWF-Malaysia, in partnership with the Department of Fisheries Melaka and Kem Terendak military base camp, has successfully deployed a satellite transmitter on a female hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in the wee hours of 13 August 2008 after she successfully nested. She was released at approximately 0430 hrs.
This is the third and final deployment of satellite transmitters in Melaka for this year by WWF-Malaysia; two others have been deployed on hawksbills nesting at Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting on 4 August and 13 July 2008 respectively.
This research, the third year running, is being conducted to discover the foraging habitat of the hawksbills nesting along the Melaka coastline and their migration patterns in the Strait of Malacca. The research data gathered is crucial in identifying and reducing threats to the turtles’ marine habitat, where they spend most of their lives. These hawksbills undertake their long journey every few years to Melaka beaches solely to complete their reproductive cycle.
Since 2006 five hawksbills have been tracked by WWF-Malaysia and the Department of Fisheries Melaka using this satellite telemetry technology. Four of the turtles were tracked last year to the waters of Riau Archipelago in Indonesia whereas the other were last located in the southern Singaporean waters.
Kem Terendak, Pulau Upeh and Padang Kemunting were specially chosen as deployment sites since these nesting grounds support three of the largest nesting populations of hawksbills in Melaka. Melaka is home to the largest nesting population in Peninsular Malaysia, second only to Sabah’s Turtle Islands. Each year approximately 300-400 nestings are recorded by the State Department of Fisheries.
The hawksbill tagged at Kem Terendak, currently unnamed, now bears identification numbers on both her front flippers (Tag Nos. MY3267 & MY3268). She measures 71.5 cm in shell length and weighs 42kg. She laid 96 eggs, this being her second nesting recorded, which was immediately translocated to Padang Kemunting Turtle Hatchery managed by Department of Fisheries for safe incubation.
As the hawksbills’ marine home extends beyond Malaysian territorial waters, regional co-operation and partnership is an important factor in saving these ancient mariners. Guided by the satellite telemetry, WWF-Malaysia will be able to track their journey back to their feeding grounds. Marine turtles are only dependent on the beach for egg incubation and spend most of their lifetime in coastal waters, feeding in coral reefs. Results from this research are crucial for a better understanding of their post-nesting movement and habitat use.
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