Mention Pulau Perhentian, Malaysia, and people would think of the sandy beach island getaway. Quiz them more, and people may say turtles. Perhentian, which means “stop-over” in Malay, is one of the islands in Malaysia where sea turtles can still be spotted either on the beach laying eggs or swimming in the water. Turtles discovered Perhentian long before humans arrived. They thrived for thousands of years, but are now struggling to survive.

At present, there are just a handful of turtle nests found of the Hawksbill, Leatherback and Olive Ridley species. Only the Green turtles have a chance to maintain their numbers with more than 2000 nests per year along a coastline of more than 300km. Considering that each nest has an average of 100 eggs, but only one in 10,000 turtle hatchlings becomes an adult, the handful of nesting numbers virtually means that the three species of sea turtles are almost locally extinct. 

Perhentian is a popular backpacker haven where many go for snorkelling or diving activities to see turtles swim gracefully underwater. However, many of these visitors are uninformed of the ethics when being in the water, and they have no qualms about touching or chasing the turtles. Even snorkelling tour operators themselves will try to catch the turtles and encourage tourists to pose with the turtles that are brought above water. This is an example of wildlife harassment.

At night, turtle watching is a common tourist attraction with some people being able to witness a mother turtle laying her eggs. Unfortunately, people can easily scare female turtles if they get too close or gather in a big crowd. In one incident, a mother turtle rushed back to sea still releasing her eggs as she scrambled down the beach, all because of a misguided flash from a tourist’s camera. While turtles are focused on laying their eggs, they can be easily frightened. Furthermore, locals will often poach sea turtle eggs even while the mothers are laying them and sell them to earn extra income.

In March 2010, a green turtle was injured during a collision with a boat propeller that left a deep cut on its shell. The boat collision eventually led the turtle to be diagnosed with gastric and the turtle died a month after the accident. This tragedy could have easily been avoided if the boat had installed a propeller guard, which is a standard safety feature in Australia.

Despite these threats, there is a glimmer of HOPE for the turtles of the Perhentian Islands. Help Our Penyu (HOPE), which is a registered Malaysian society (reg. No. 2103-10-WKL) provide added support to the Department of Fisheries Terengganu, working with the Association of Perhentian Islands Operators Terengganu and the Perhentian villagers. HOPE strives to unify sea turtle conservation across the islands. HOPE is presently funded by voluntourists who play a key role in their conservation efforts on the islands. The volunteer activities include: i) manning a portable information and interactive turtle activities booth in dispersing education on sea turtles to tourists; ii) hosting a weekly after school marine club, named ‘Turtles Need Trees (TNT) Club’, at the primary school in Perhentian; iii) initiating a village community group; and iv) protecting two turtle nesting beaches from poachers.

Not only does HOPE work on the Perhentian Islands, but also on the mainland.  This year, HOPE initiated an annual turtle awareness and track survey event named ‘Walk for Turtles’ where HOPE staff and volunteers walked over 200km on the beaches of Terengganu. The Walk for Turtles planned for 2011 will be extended to 300km, visiting 10 islands, conducting awareness sessions and beach cleans with eight primary schools, visiting six turtle projects and inviting the general public to join in the fun along with celebrities.

HOPE’s tag line is to empower the people of Malaysia in sea turtle conservation; thus, have many ways in which you can join in HOPE’s efforts. 

1.  Be a voluntourist with HOPE, we have two volunteer opportunities:
   1. Perhentian turtle volunteer conservation project; and
   2. Terengganu Turtle expedition and turtle track survey.
2. Fundraise – HOPE has a UK fundraising team (consisting of ex-volunteers) who organize events and provide support to people who want to run their own fundraising events.  In 2010, one of our followers raised £500 by doing a sponsored bike ride and cake sale.  If you want any help or want any advice about doing your own fundraising events, please contact us for assistance.
3. Go on a holiday with us – HOPE’s travel agent partner, Ecoteer Responsible Travel, will donate 5% of any sales they make through the HOPE website. We are also working on a rating scheme where HOPE staff and general public will be able to rate resorts on two aspects: i) turtle protection; and ii) environmental education.
4. Social media – Before we can empower the public to protect sea turtle, first we need to educate them. Facebook© is the most effective way to connect Malaysians as the method is used by thousands of Malaysians and is free. Through our social media network which reaches out to 5000 followers, we provide updated information about sea turtles. We also run competitions through facebook with the sole purpose of educating more people about sea turtles by creating a viral effect on turtle education. For example see our turtle song competition and watch our winning entry. Here’s how you can be connected with HOPE:
   1. Join our Facebook© group;
   2. Check out our Facebook© fanpage;
   3. Read our tweets; and
   4. Watch our videos in YouTube.

Join hands with us, for turtles are nearly locally extinct in Terengganu, Malaysia. Let us give HOPE to the sea turtles of Terengganu, Malaysia.