WWF Indonesia installs telemetry satellite on leatherback sea turtle

Ambon, Maluku, March 7 (Antara) - International organizations engaged in environment, WWF (World Wide Fund) of Indonesia and NOAA (the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) will install seven telemetry satellite units at a number of leatherback sea turtles on the north coast of Buru Island, Maluku Province.

The installation of the telemetry satellites aims to study the behavior of leatherback turtles more deeply for conservation, a WWF-Indonesia researcher, Dwi Suprapti, said here on Wednesday.

"In addition to installing satellites we will also take 100 individual leatherback sea turtles samples until early 2019," she said.

She explained that leatherback sea turtles like the northern coast of Buru Island that includes three villages, namely, Wamlana, Waspait and Waenibe villages as a place to spawn. But the success rate of nesting turtles up to hatch is only 20 percent.

Some of the main factors contributing to the small success rate of the nest until hatching turtle eggs people who take the eggs and natural predators such as estuary crocodiles, wild boars and dogs.

"Socialization is a very important effort to succeed turtle preservation program that involves active participation of the locals who live around the nesting beach," she said.

Dwi explained that a discussion conducted by WWF with NOAA and the Coordinating Agency for Natural Resources of Maluku Province would be followed up with action plans to protect turtles.

"We start the actions by encouraging the issuance of village regulations and provincial regulations, the establishment of turtle protection community groups, relocation of sea turtles to avoid them from predators, and law enforcement by the authorities to raise public awareness of the importance of turtles," she said.

Turtle is one of the ancient animals that still remain to this day. Leatherback sea turtle is one of the six species of turtles found in Indonesia and protected by the Law no. 5 of 1990 on the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems.

WWF-Indonesia data states that the northern coast of Buru Island is one of the beaches in Maluku which is visited by many leatherback sea turtles to lay their eggs. They look for foods to Papua Island.

"Telemetry satellite data show that turtles which spawn on Buru Island are looking foods to the coast of Hawaii," she said.