Marine Turtle status Report - Indian Ocean - South-East Asian ...

5.3 Analysis of nesting data obtained from island community andresort operators managing turtle hatcheriesThe patrollers on Pom-Pom and Pandanan conduct their rounds on nestingbeaches daily, while the patrollers on Mataking do not patrol everyday due toweather, tide and lack of capacity. Therefore, data from Mataking was anestimate of the actual total number of nests, eggs and hatchlings. There is apossibility that the numbers of nesting on that island could be higher thanrecorded.All eggs found by the patrollers were transported to hatcheries to preventpoaching, avoid inundation attributed to beach erosion and reduce mortality bynatural predators (mainly monitor lizards).5.3.1 Mataking IslandThe Reef Dive Resort and Tours Sdn. Bhd. began its turtle conservationprogramme in 2004. In 2008 the programme became better implemented withthe hiring of a marine biologist. Nesting data has been collected since 2006. Theresort has two hatcheries measuring 6m 2 and 32m 2 , built in 2004 and 2008respectively. Currently, only the second hatchery is being used. The turtlemonitoring team is comprised of five patrollers headed by the marine biologist.This team monitors the island with proper equipment (Table 9). Once a nest isfound, the eggs are placed in the hatchery as soon as possible and each nest islabelled. The patrollers do not patrol the nesting beaches nightly. Occasionally,they find nests when patrolling early in the morning.Table 9: Patrolling equipment used on MatakingPatrolling equipmentPurposePlastic pailTo transport turtle eggs safely from nest to hatcheryTorchlightTo search for crawls in the dark and for safety purposeDisposable latex glove To avoid contamination while handling turtle eggsMeasuring tape To measure female turtle CCL (cm) and CCW (cm)Data sheetTo record data on nestingTag and tag applicator To tag turtlesPatrolling vest For staff identificationFrom 2006 to 2010, both Green and Hawksbill turtle nested on Mataking. Thehighest number of Green and Hawksbill turtle nests was recorded in 2010, with58 and 16 nests respectively. The lowest number of Green and Hawksbill turtlenests was recorded in 2006 with 6 and 5 nests respectively (Figure 10).26