Juara Turtle Project

KG Tekek Primary School Students & Jo

2012 Summary

JTP operates with support from:

www.uwcsea.edu.sg www.riverview-tioman.com www.ourlittleplanet.org

Fisheries Dept. Malaysia, Marine Parks Malaysia, TAT Turtle Sanctuary, Tioman Development Agency, Juara JKK

Some History on JTP

Juara Turtle Project has grown, progressed, and sometimes failed on its course towards protection for sea turtles, their habitats, and for a mutually sustainable relationship with people.

Below is an outline of what we have done since 2006, to try and improve the sea turtle’s situation here:

Continued Hatchery from Government- We adopted the hatchery program from the government when their operation contract ran out.

Support from UWCSEA- UWCSEA signed on right away to help support the effort, which allowed for a lot more eggs to be protected.

Student Involvement- Operating the hatchery meant giving students a first-hand experience at conservation and sea turtles; hopefully raising their personal interest on the issues.

Improving Methods- Right after adopting the hatchery JTP started to improve its methods for the hatchery and especially release of hatchings, through research and by asking friends and professionals in the field.

Team with TAT- The Royal Family of Pahang State came to JTP and asked about joining the conservation effort. This was a move to try and strengthen the hold for turtles on Tioman.

Moved Hatchery- The hatchery was moved away from a busier tourist area to avoid disruption or damages, and was moved to an area better just for the hatchery.

New Turtle Centre- We built a specific turtle conservation centre to better focus on the hatchery and conservation work. It also helps present conservation as a serious issue, and allows for more students and volunteers.

Egg Collection- We still employ the same family who used to legally collect eggs here in the Juara area, although we now hold the permits (through TAT). We hope to re-direct their skills and integrate.

Professional Advice- Three professional turtle scientists have visited JTP since 2006 to assist and consult with us on methods and strategy for this specific location, helping JTP to change and progress.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

50

100

150

200

250

195

85 9380

37 47 44

2006 - 2012

Nesting in Kg Juara Area

CONTINUED- What we've done since 2006 to try and help:

Juara School- The Juara Primary School has been involved with JTP since it started. At first just witnessing some hatchling release, then later attending English lessons at the JTP Centre, more recently visiting as a class group for lessons led by the teachers and JTP staff.

Community- JTP began bringing sea turtle issues to light within the Juara community, and trying to offer solutions for issues like egg-collection and later for beach lighting.

Beach Sanction- In 2006 when JTP first joined with TAT we asked them to sanction Juara Beach for nesting turtle protection. 2 signs were erected but no legal protection.

Beach Sanction Again- In 2010 another sanctioning attempt was made jointly with TAT and submitted to the MB (Governor) of Pahang, it included support letters from the Fisheries Dept and Marine Parks of Pahang and the Royal Family of Pahang State.

Third Beach Sanction- In this past year 2012 we tried again to sanction Juara for nesting protection, spurred by a rise in development threat. We created a full report and with support from TAT, Marine Parks and Fisheries Dept suggested a development buffer zone along the beachfront in Juara.

Fisheries Dept – We have tried to collaborate with the Fisheries Department in Malaysia and have successfully done some programs together and have started tagging nesting sea turtles here in Juara.

Marine Parks- We have developed a relationship with the Marine Parks Dept. who have been supportive of us and we encourage them to enforce the marine regulations around Tioman. We have also consulted them on awareness materials for their displays.

Nesting Survey- We have done multiple studies around the island surveying the different nesting beaches for nest counts and turtle species. Talking with village residents also provided insight on Tioman’s turtle history.

Hatchery Management – Additional hatchery methods were learned and employed during the 2010, 2011 nesting seasons when JTP had specific hatchery biologists and volunteers, and access to online resources.

Turtle Records- Since 2006 JTP has kept record of all nests in our hatchery along with additional comparative data and other sea turtle activity and survey data from around the island. These records provide us with insight now, students with data to analyse, and will hopefully prove useful in the future.

SWOT Data- Our Turtle Records each year are sent to an international group called SWOT who collects turtle nesting data from locations all around the world. They help to give a global view on sea turtles.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

2000400060008000

100001200014000160001800020000

84.7 72.5 69.6 78.3 82.2 87.1 88.4

2006 - 2012 Totals for JTP Hatchery

Eggs Collected

Babies Hatched

(%) Hatching Percent

2012 What we did this year to try and help:

In the community:

Turtle Season BBQ - For the first nest laid this year we had a BBQ the next at Juara’s DJ Corner Café. Intention was to celebrate the start of the turtles arriving; without disturbing them. Videos and a short talk were given but the night mostly promoted good relations between JTP, turtles, and the community.

Beachfront Lighting- We started a program at the BBQ Celebration by distributing yellow light-bulbs and small info posters. The light bulbs are for use on the beachfront, as yellow light is minimally disruptive to approaching nesting turtles. The posters are for chalets resorts to display lighting information and suggestions to their guests. Posters were provided by UWCSEA. Lighting is still an on-going project/ issue.

Juara Primary School- We were asked to give a talk, sponsor lunch, and host some short games for a day program with the students. There was also water safety class with Little Planet, and beach games. On a few other days the teachers were able to include JTP into their lessons and brought down classes to learn.

Selling Crafts- Each day JTP has many visitors to see Jo, so we opened some space for Juara residents to sell any crafts or items they make. This includes batik, key chains, coconut oil, baskets, etc.

Turtle Mural- With a Little Planet group we organized painting the outside of the local craft centre with marine life and lots of turtles. The intention was to promote marine life, and give the shop a free paint job.

Beach Sanction Attempt- This year when some new chalets began construction next door to us we made a report highlighting the importance of protecting the beach as a nesting area and as an environmental asset for their tourism economy. The report was sent out to appropriate departments and people in Malaysia but so far the decision has been to not sanction any beaches in this area.

TAT Visit- Some members of TAT (sea turtle group run by the Royal Family of Pahang State) came to visit Juara because of the concerns we discussed on development and the possibility for a beach sanction. There has been some discussion but no protection implemented on the beach yet.

Resort Lighting- We visited and talked with the three new resorts that started construction on Mentawak Beach about lighting and how it can be controlled and not affect nesting turtles too much. There was some cooperation with the concepts and a bit with application as well. Notably the Beach Shack uses many less-intrusive yellow lights for their beachfront lighting.

CONTINUED- 2012 What we did to try and help:

Nesting Beach Sign- A visitor raised the question “how would I know this is a nesting beach?” So we made a signboard for the road entrance to the Mentawak Beach and included illustrated info about nesting turtles. Instead of saying ‘No’ or ‘Dont’ on the sign, we tried giving positive suggestions for non-disruptive activity.

Sports Teams- There are different groups and sports in Kg Juara amongst the people that live here. Various teams for football or volleyball ask for sponsorship from us to attend competitions around the island and sometimes on the mainland. We help sponsor a few teams for events and sometimes t-shirts each year.

Surf Competition- Juara held a surf competition so we made ‘turtles & surfing- everyone loves the beach’ posters to display at the event, again a positive message of sharing and enjoying nature.

At JTP:

Intern Staff- This year three interns stayed at JTP to help divide the work load and to improve on their areas of focus. They stayed on a work-for-trade basis but committed to a minimum of six months each.

Information Area- The information area was developed further with large painted signs created by volunteers. Information is crucial so that every visitor to JO gets a lesson about sea turtle conservation.

Hatchery- The hatchery temperatures were better adjusted to the natural nest locations. A new (more natural) method for nesting the eggs in the hatchery was tried but is not conclusive yet. The hatching success rate was quite good, 88.4% and a lengthy document was written about the hatchery methods.

Volunteers- We decided to make a minimum required stay of one-week for volunteers, and limit six volunteers at JTP at one time. The intention is better organized and more helpful volunteers.

SOPs-. We reedited our Standard Operating Procedures with the new staff, to find ways of keeping us all safe while still offering a level of freedom to the volunteers and groups.

Food Garden - We realised the need for lots of compost, only trying to grow the native Tioman fruits and vegetables, and implementing stronger permaculture framework.

Turtle Rescue- Two turtles were found sick in Juara Bay at separate times. Both were given care, one was released and swam away strongly; the other died and was found to have eaten a bird.

Marine Research Foundation- The head of MRF, Dr. Pilcher, visited with us and Riverview to try and help us think about how to sustainably integrating conservation into the communities here.

Bird Research- A member of Wild Asia got in touch with us from nearby Tengah Island, we are now exchanging turtle information and plan to start monitoring birds from JTP as well.

CNY Garden Program- We ran a gardening program here for CNY, including turtle time and some gardening experts giving lessons and doing activities in the day.

Tagging Program- Per our request, the Fisheries Department sent us tools for tagging the nesting sea turtles in Juara. A Fisheries employee also came to JTP for three nights of instructing us in tagging. Our data is sent to the Fisheries Dept. and we use their standard Malaysian tags.

CONTINUED- 2012 What we did to try and help:

Outreach:

Redang Island- JTP staff visited Redang Island for a program with the Malaysian Marine Park Dept. about nesting sea turtles. We hoped to strengthen our ties with them and also brought along our egg-collection staff from Juara for a couple of sponsored nights at the event.

Tioman Turtles- We run a blog with students at UWCSEA in the Tioman Turtles Global Concern group. Questions are asked to encourage their understanding of conservation, and we give updates and photos. The students are learning about our cause so we think it’s valuable to communicate with them.

Art Show- A gallery/ café in KL called the Warehouse asked us to present information at their ‘back to nature’ art show. A team of past JTP volunteers staffed the event supplied with posters and information.

Data Set- We have organized our data into a singular set that can be used by third parties, groups, and schools. The data is 6 years of records and could be valuable for students to do real-life studies.

Logo- We created a new image with a classic yin-yang but with turtles and people instead of circles. The logo image is to help illustrate good relations and balance between people and turtles.

Architecture UCSI- The Architecture Department from UCSI in KL came to work with us and created designs for low-impact chalets. We visited their year presentation for the final models and plans, now they plan to build the chalets here as an on-going department project.

2012 Hatchery Records

Nest #

Mother Beach Date laid # Eggs Hatch %

1 H 1 PEN 8/3 140 912 H 1 PEN 5/4 135 613 G 2 MEN 13/4 121 934 H 1 PEN 19/4 144 885 H 3 PEN 22/4 129 626 G 2 MEN 24/4 104 957 G 4 MUN 25/4 109 728 G 5 MEN 26/4 105 929 H 1 PEN 4/5 121 9110 G 2 MEN 6/5 107 9611 G 5 MEN 7/5 133 8012 H 3 PEN 7/5 149 8113 G 4 MUN 9/5 98 9514 G 2 MEN 17/5 127 9115 G 5 MEN 19/5 145 7216 G 6 PEN 21/5 72 8817 G 2 MEN 27/5 122 9118 G 4 MUN 31/5 102 6219 G 5 MEN 1/6 129 8520 G 6 PEN 2/6 71 8921 H 3 PEN 4/6 154 8522 G 7 MEN 5/6 73 8223 G 2 MEN 6/6 125 9724 G 4 MUN 10/6 110 9225 G 5 MEN 12/6 120 9426 G 6 PEN 12/6 81 8927 G 7 MEN 16/6 133 9628 G 8 MUN 18/6 82 9429 G 4 MUN 21/6 92 8030 G 6 PEN 22/6 92 9831 G 5 MEN 24/6 105 9932 G 8 MUN 26/6 75 9733 G 7 MEN 28/6 133 9834 G 6 PEN 1/7 96 9235 G 4 MUN 3/7 102 9036 G 5 MEN 5/7 109 9637 G 8 MUN 7/7 82 9238 G 6 PEN 12/7 94 8939 G 5 MEN 18/7 91 9640 G 8 MUN 18/7 91 9641 G 6 PEN 23/7 112 9042 G 8 MUN 27/7 94 9043 G 5 MEN 30/7 131 9544 G 8 MUN 8/8 114 90

TOTALS for 2012:Nests in Hatchery: 44Mother Turtles-Hawksbill: 2-Green: 6

Nests per beach-Penut: 14-Munjor: 12-Mentawak: 18

Eggs: 4,854Hatchlings: 4,290Hatching percentage: 88.4%

2012 Green Vs. Hawksbill Nesting

The 2012 nesting season lasted from April until October. These results are pretty standard of the nesting habits for these two types of sea turtle in the Kg Juara area. Hawksbills will usually be the first to nest in the year, then more sporadically throughout the rest of the season. Greens will usually nest soon after, and continue through the season with more turn-out than the Hawksbill. One turtle seems to nest an average of 5-6 times, maximum of 8 times and the lowest being only 1 nest. One nesting mother turtle seems to nest at the same beach for the whole season. There are some gaps in nestings that may indicate one turtle nesting at a different location, or at least a pause in its nesting for another reason. There are other studies that show one turtle returning to one beach for nesting throughout its entire life.

Total number of eggs laid0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

3882

972

Green

Hawksbill

Hatching success (%)74

76

78

80

82

84

86

88

90

9290.08

79.86

Green

Hawksbill

Number of nests laid0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40 37

7

Green

Hawksbill

Number of nesting mother0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

6

2

Green

Hawksbill

2012 Nesting by Beach and Month

211344%

115124%

159033%

Number of eggs laid

Mentawak

Munjor

Penut

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

91.56

87.5

85.29

Hatching Success Rate (%)

Mentawak

Munjor

Penut

Number of Nests Number of nesting Mothers0

5

10

15

20 18

3

12

2

14

3

Per Beach

Mentawak

Munjor

Penut

March April May June July August0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0

4

8

14

10

11

32

10 0

Nesting Species Per Month

Green

Hawksbill

Some Thoughts on the Future

We have tried hard with pushing beach sanctions and development regulations for Tioman, especially for Kg Juara. Juara is special as the only inhabited beach on Tioman which still receives more than one turtle nesting each year. Beachfront development will play a critical role in the survival of Juara as a nesting beach in the future. JTP will continue to supply low-impact lighting materials and advice to developing locations, in hopes that they will opt to develop in a turtle friendly manner for their own reasons since there are no government regulations in place.

Egg collection is also an on-going issue for the turtles so we will continue our hatchery operation but are working towards a better solution. Ideally the hatchery will be abolished, and the sea turtle nests will be safe from poaching, undisturbed on the beach in their natural location. Achieving this will take greater community awareness and agreement; our goal for the future is that Kg Juara will go so far as to take over the entire operation of JTP, especially the hatchery and tourism aspects.

Other areas endangering sea turtles such as fishing regulations are managed by government agencies that we will continue to support and encourage towards better protection and marine management.

Jo has outgrown her current accommodations and we are now working out a new home for her, it seems that most likely she will be moving to Japan at the Kobe Aquarium. This has been arranged with great help from the Marine Research Foundation, and we look forward to a better home for Jo and a less tourist occupied Turtle Project here in Juara so that we can further our work and stop promoting turtles in tanks. “If you want to see turtles, then you better start protecting them!”

Additionally JTP is starting to expand its areas of natural interest and survey from only sea turtles to including reef, reptile, and bird research. Tioman is a natural mecca for many types of wildlife, and because of its remote location is even home to numerous endemic sub-species not found anywhere else in the world. Our intentions are to provide a window to these animals for the public, while creating records of their populations with continued involvement from school groups, volunteers and Tioman residents.

Hopefully we can help bring the natural world of Tioman into such focus that its protection can be held in at least the same regard as its value for beachfront vacations.

contact@juaraturtleproject.com

www.juaraturtleproject.com

Additional Images from 2012