Johor conservation efforts produce about 5,000 turtle hatchlings a year

MERSING, Oct 2 — Johor continues to make positive progress in turtle conservation, particularly for hawksbill and green turtles, with an estimated 5,000 hatchlings emerging each year through protection efforts at nesting sites and hatcheries.

Johor Department of Fisheries director Rosmawati Ghazali said the main turtle nesting sites identified include Pulau Apil, Pulau Dayang, Pulau Besar and Pulau Tinggi here.

She said Pulau Tinggi recorded the highest number of hatchings due to its low population and remote location, which helps minimise human disturbance and threats from predators such as dogs and monitor lizards.

However, Rosmawati said turtle eggs left to hatch naturally face a high risk of predation, so they transfer eggs found at nesting sites to hatcheries for closer monitoring.