BE KIND TO OUR TURTLES
AND THE OBVIOUS NEED FOR THEIR PRESERVATION – PART 1

I read with disdain, and I’m sure I’m not alone, about the dead turtles found by the Malaysian marine police when they caught a Chinese trawler fishing illegally in Malaysian waters in Sabah a few months ago.

I can’t really express how cruel I thought those fishermen were, maybe how stupid they were really, since the turtles were actually caught to be made into traditional medicines, of all things.

In what century are they living? Medicines made from dead creatures? That, in my view, is pushing alternative medicine too far. Beyond the twilight zone it is. With really doubtful results at that.

And the next day another trawler with a bigger haul of turtles was caught. Well, kudos to the Malaysian Marine Police. Those are the type of news I would love to hear about our police department.

Then, later, of course with profound glee, I read in the newspapers that the skipper and crew of the Chinese trawler caught with 274 protected turtles were slapped with more than RM1.88 million, yes million, in fines by the magistrate's court in Kota Kinabalu. And they were ordered to be jailed between six and 18 months each if in default.

And I unreservedly say, yes,yes,yes, they deserve those huge fines. Truly and rightly deserve it.

And good riddance to them. The stiff penalties meted out to these felons should serve as stern warnings to others that turtles, especially our turtles, are worth more than the worth of whatever value as traditional medicines they would get.

But, just a reminder, we must never for a moment forget about conservation of turtles. That is more important than all the huge fines and jail terms. The advice that "Prevention is better than cure" has been touted for so long it’s becoming a cliché nobody listens to.

And fining and jailing the crooked fishermen will not help come to life the turtles that had been killed. Dead turtles cannot breed.

But we can disseminate information to all those fishermen of neighboring countries of our desire to preserve, at all costs, these adorable turtles, and of their priceless value to humankind.

Perhaps, these fishermen may be following orders by their bosses out of ignorance, or just maybe following old living practices of their fathers and fore-fathers, without knowledge of the changing environment.

So information needs to be disseminated to these maybe poor, illiterate, but rather unconscionable fishermen of our neighboring countries, about our stand on preservation of these adorable creatures of the sea, the turtles.

Hopefully, knowledge of the importance of preserving turtles will help to reduce and subsequently eliminate fishing of turtles in our waters, making our beaches conducive again to their laying eggs for continued generation of their species.

But then again, just "hopefully".