World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

MALAYSIAinterpreting yield data from licensed egg collectors it is difficult todiscern trends with any confidence. On the west coast, Moll (1987) reportedthat disturbance, trawling and persecution had eliminated all but onenesting site. Lee (1987) voiced fears that the egg collection was rapidlydepleting the colony at Pantai Pasir Panjang.Nesting season On the mainland east coast C. mydas nests between Januaryand October, with a peak, in May-July; on the islands the season extends fromMarch to December, with a peak, in August (Leong and Siow, 1984).Foraging sites No information; no important feeding grounds appear to beknown in West Malaysian waters.POPULATION : Eretmochelys imbricataNesting sites Relatively few E. imbricata nest in West Malaysia;significant numbers occur only on Pulau Redang, at Tanjung Galiga on themainland, both in Terengganu, and on certain islands, including Tioman, offthe Pahang-Johor border (Leong and Siow, 1984; Siow and Moll, 1982). A verysmall number arrive regularly on beaches north of Melaka (Scriven in litt . ,5 November 1986). Lee (1987) reported that two species of turtle nested atPantai Pasir Panjang on the west coast, one of which, known locally as"penyu karah", he thought was probably E. imbricata .Nesting numbers In the absence of appropriate surveys, nesting numberscan be gauged primarily by yield data from licensed egg collectors.Trends in nesting numbers No reliable data on long-term nesting trendsare available, although Siow and Moll (1982) reported a decline in overallsea turtle egg production of around 43% between 1956 and 1978.Nesting season The season extends from January to September, with a peakin May, on Pulau Redang, and from February to June, with a peak in April, atTanjing Geliga.Foraging sites No detailed information. The species occurs in smallnumbers around the coast of West Malaysia, including the Malacca Straits(where two were recently documented being released from fishermens nets atPort Dickson; Scriven, 1986).Table 127. Estimated annual yield of E. imbricata eggs on the east coastof West Malaysia (based on 1978 data, after Siow and Moll, 1982),with extrapolation of possible annual nesting numbers. The Pahang figuremostly reflects nesting on Tioman.Egg harvestNesting females(Extrapolated)KelantanTerengganu 10 700 35Pahang 5 400 20Johor 2 500 10Total 18 600 60321