1. Studies of Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) at nesting and foraging grounds
Dr. Juanita Joseph
Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS)
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

2. Presentation Outline:
Long-term tagging and monitoring of green turtles at Chagar Hutang, Redang Island, Terengganu (1993 – 2014)
Identification and determination of natal origins of green turtles at foraging grounds throughout Malaysian waters

3. Project Site of SEATRU (1993 - present)
Chagar Hutang Beach
Project Site of SEATRU ( present)
Project Leader : Dr. Juanita Joseph (2009 – present)
Founders:
-Prof. Dr Chan Eng Heng (project leader: 1993 – 2009)
-Assoc. Prof. Liew Hock Chark (co-project leader )

4. Declared as Turtle santuaries in 2005:
Chagar Hutang
Research Station
Mak Kepit
Mak Simpan
Turtle Sanctuaries
Declared as Turtle santuaries in 2005:
Chagar Hutang,
Mak Kepit &
Mak Simpan

5. Redang Island:
Serve as nesting grounds
Mating areas
Foraging ground

6. Long-term Tagging and Monitoring of Sea Turtles

7. Sea turtle nests under incubation at Chagar Hutang, Redang Island

8. of un-hatched eggs to determine hatching success
Excavation and analysis of unhatched eggs
Nest excavation
Hatchling emergence
Examining the
contents
of un-hatched eggs to determine hatching success

9. Nest recorded at Redang Island: 1993 -2014
Nest Protected:8911
Total nest marketed: (120,707 eggs)
1993 – 2004: only 77% of eggs were incubated
2005: Gazette as Turtle Sanctuary (100% eggs incubated)
Two species of sea turtles: Green turtle & Hawksbill turtle
Nesting occurred throughout the year, but during the northeast monsoon (Nov – Jan) monitoring sometimes could not be done due to rough weather.
Peak nesting months: May to July

10. Number of nesters (1993 – 2014)
No. of turtle tagged and monitored ( ): 1711
Some turtles previously tagged in Chagar Hutang, were found nesting at the nearby nesting beaches (Redang), Pulau Perhentian, and Bidong)
Major weaknesses: Data sharing is still limited, no speed restriction near the nesting areas

11. Dead turtles found around Redang Island
Cracked on the carapace, suspected hit by boat propellers

12. Pulau
Redang
Internesting behaviour of Green turtles (Acoustic and radio telemetry)

13. Reproductive Data: Mean ±s.d. Range n (clutches) 99.9 88.1 5.3 5.4
Mean
±s.d.
Range
n (clutches)
Adult Females:
CCL (cm)
CCW (cm)
99.9
88.1
5.3
5.4
78.7 – 115
1975
Hatchlings:
SCL (cm)
SCW (cm)
Weight (g)
4.56
3.41
21.4
0.19
0.32
2.3
604 (34 clutches)
495 (33 clutches)
Eggs:
Diameter (cm)
3.82
37.2
0.31
4.5
2.79 – 4.98
25.9 – 47.2
270 (27 clutches)
270 (27 Clutches)
Clutch size (eggs) 92
21.1
% Hatching success
79.8
23.4
Incubation period (days) 56
4.36
No. of clutches per female
2.1
1 - 12

14. Internesting interval:

15. Remigration Interval:

16. 22 years of conservation effort, does the sea turtle population had increased in Redang Island?
Long term protection is tedious, but maintaining high hatchlings output is shown to be an effective and essential conservation strategy.
Conservation must be sustained for a long time.
Funding
Field assistants

17. Volunteer Program:
To assist and fund the long-term sea turtle conservation at Redang Island
To increase & create public awareness in sea turtle

18. Genetics study of sea turtles at foraging grounds

19. Poaching Incidences
Poaching incidences of sea turtles throughout Malaysian waters.
November 2003 – 148 dead turtles aboard, few Chinese fishermen intercepted in waters off Labuan, Malaysia.
May 2004 – arrested 16 fishermen from Hainan after discovering about 160 dead turtles in their vessel (Pulau Mengalum)
June 2005 – more than 100 turtles were seized from a Hainan trawler (Labuan)
April 2008 – more than 40 turtles and tortoises were seized from China, Vietnam and Thailand trawlers which were found 120km offshore of Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia.

20. 2007 Poaching Incidences
26 Mac 2007 – 78 turtles found in a fisherman boat, 18 nm Pulau Mantanani, Sabah.
29 Mac 2007 – 240 turtles found in a Hainan fishermen boat, 18 nm from Pulau Mengalum, Sabah.

21. 2014: Pulau Tiga, Balambangan, Kudat
Slaughtering of green turtles, more than 50 carcasses were found
Suspected that turtle were caught around the areas. Some slaughtered, some sold alive to Chinese and Vietnamese fishermen

22. Objectives To identify foraging grounds throughout Malaysian waters
To determine the natal origin of sea turtles at each foraging grounds in Malaysia using mtDNA control region sequences
(which nesting rookeries uses the foraging
grounds in Malaysia)

23. Perhentian Island
Redang Island
Tanjung Tuan
Sungai Pulai
Tun Sakaran Marine Parks
Mantanani Island
Sempadi
Layang-Layang
Island
South China Sea
Celebes Sea
Strait of Malacca
Sipadan
Brunei Bay
Pulau Tiga
Redang
Sempadi
Brunei Bay
P.Tiga
Mantanani
Tg Tuan
Sg. Pulai
TSMP
Sipadan
Green Turtle 7 5 47 1 20 3  - 53 37
Hawksbill Turtle - -  2 8
Total 25 11 61 42
Turtles were seen at Perhentian Island & Layang-layang, but we didn’t manage to catch them

24. Frequency (%)
Maturity stages

25. Methodology 1. Identification of feeding grounds
Field Sampling
1. Identification of feeding grounds
2. Turtles captured by snorkelling/SCUBA diving or rodeo.
3. Turtle lifted up to the boat for measurement, tagging and withdrawal of blood samples for genetics study.

26. Brunei Bay Turtles were captured using ‘kabat’
A total of 47 green turtles were caught
Collaboration with SEAFDEC
Photos were taken at Brunei Bay (Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia)

27. Genetic Results (mtDNA control region sequences)
Haplotypes
South China Sea
Celebes Sea
Haplotypes previously identified by:
CmP20 (A3) 3 19
Dethmers et al. 2006
CmP77 (A4) 1
CmP49 (C3) 22
CmP87 (C4) 9
CmP40 (C5) 2 4
CmP82 (B5)
CmP89 (C8) 5
CmP91 (C14) 8
CmP57 (D2) 24 34
CmP61 (E2)
CmP19 (CMTWC)
Dutton et al. unpublished
CmP32 (FIJF)
CmP154
CmP221
New haplotype n 77 90

28. Bayesian Mixed-Stock Analysis,MSA (Pella & Masuda 2001)
Rookery
With uniform prior distribution
Weighting by population size
South China Sea
Celebes Sea
Mean
2.5%
97.5%
nGBR
0.16
0.00
1.78
0.05
0.62
0.24
2.55
0.08
0.85
Coral Sea
0.15
1.74
0.61
0.19
2.13
0.07
0.75
sGBR
1.69
0.59
2.21
0.78
New Caledonia
2.15
0.06
0.73
0.18
2.04
0.71
Micronesia
4.52
16.24
17.49
3.17
33.35
4.70
16.42
17.42
3.20
33.56
PNG
1.88
8.05
27.22
0.17
1.89
8.44
27.77
Peninsular Malaysia
2.38
29.53
0.57
7.45
3.64
46.12
9.37
Sarawak
10.89
28.51
0.69
10.78
29.21
0.58
Sulu Sea
14.97
43.94
36.80
64.83
17.78
45.44
40.08
65.63
Berau Island
7.71
78.66
4.84
27.46
8.62
79.74
6.37
29.54
SE Sabah
18.18
83.92
24.80
75.66
11.65
78.29
20.16
72.84
Aru
16.08
36.87
0.79
5.82
16.52
37.82
0.80
5.86
GOC
18.53
47.08
0.94
21.58
48.70
0.11
1.25
Ashmore Reef
0.25
2.84
1.32
18.45
0.26
2.90
22.22
Scott Reef
0.40
4.75
1.73
0.39
4.67
0.14
1.56
West Java
0.70
8.34
2.19
20.27
8.90
21.35
NW Shelf
1.97
0.68
0.30
1.09
Iriomote
0.66
0.60
0.02
0.22
Ishigaki
0.90
0.03
0.29
Ogasawara
1.76
1.65
Wan-an
1.70
1.18
6.47
0.45
0.56
4.85
Lanyu
3.81
43.60
1.20
13.98
1.75
29.94
9.56
Pella J, Masuda M (2001) Bayesian methods for analysis of stock mixtures from genetic characters. Fish Bull 99:

29. Bayesian Mixed-Stock Analysis,MSA (Pella & Masuda 2001)
Region
With uniform prior distribution
Weighting by population size
South China Sea
Celebes Sea
Mean
2.5%
97.5%
Western Pacific
5.32
0.00
17.43
25.77
12.42
37.36
5.67
17.97
26.14
11.81
37.91
Indian Ocean and SE Asia
90.27
51.03
99.97
71.67
56.40
85.60
92.27
64.35
99.99
72.61
58.83
87.35
Yaeyama
0.30
3.00
0.13
1.36
1.44
0.05
0.63
Ogasawara
0.15
1.76
0.60
0.14
1.65
0.57
Taiwan
3.96
43.79
2.38
15.29
1.80
30.00
1.15
10.60

30. South Great Barrier Reef
Micronesia
Aru
West Java
GOC
Coral Sea
South Great Barrier Reef

31. Conclusions:
This study provides new insights into the stock composition and movement of green turtles in the Southeast Asia.
Exploitation of sea turtles at foraging grounds in Malaysia will not only affect nesting rookeries in Malaysia, but will also effect nesting rookeries in other countries.
Demographic studies of foraging grounds and genetic sampling (for both foraging and nesting rookeries) in Southeast Asia should be continued to monitor temporal variation of sea turtles in this region.

32. Special Thanks:
Jabatan Taman Laut Malaysia
Jabatan Perikanan Malaysia
Sabah Parks
Sabah Wildlife Department
Sarawak Forestry Corporation
Majlis Keselamatan Negara
Research was sponsored by:
FRGS (59123)
INOS, UMT- HICoE (66928)