1000 Green Sea Turtles Released off E. Java`s Kili-Kili Beach

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Scores of environmental activists and students yesterday released 1000 green sea turtles (Chelonia Mydas) off Kili-kili Beach in Trenggalek Regency, East Java.

The event was organized by sea turtle conservation group Kelompok Masyarakat Pengawas (Pokmaswas) Konservasi Penyu Taman Kili-kili. They called the activity ‘tradisi ucul-ucul’.

The tradisi ucul-ucul was also marked with the release of hundreds of various bird species into the wild. “Tradisi ucul-ucul is an annual activity held at the end of sea turtle nesting season,” Pokwasmas official Eko Margono said.

Before the mass release of the green sea turtles, according to Eko, the conservation group had periodically released those that had hatched early.

During this year’s nesting season, roughly 3000 green sea turtles were released into the sea. “There is still one group of unhatched eggs that remain in incubation phase,” said activist Ari Gunawan.

Eko said that not all eggs hatched in this period. Out of 3,600-4,000 sea turtle eggs being evacuated, only around 85 percent hatched.

The rest failed to hatch due to delayed evacuation into a conservation location. Hatching failure risk is high if eggs did not get evacuated within 24 hours.

Fishery Office head Syuhadak Abdullah said that the release of green sea turtles will be abandoned gradually. He said that the turtles should not be held too long in conservation areas to improve their life expectancy.

“After hatching, we will immediately make ways for green sea turtles into the sea so they can quickly adapt to their natural habitat,” he said.

ANTARA