PRESS STATEMENT - Mishandling of turtles in Perhentian Island

WWF-Malaysia has received tremendous response from concerned individuals who are disgusted by what they saw in the pictures and video currently circulating on Facebook which display irresponsible acts on a turtle carried out by Perhentian Setia Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd. The video and pictures show a distressed turtle that was brought up to the surface, manhandled, restrained and rode upon for the snorkellers' delight.

These conducts clearly contravene Section 27 of the Fisheries Act 1985 which states that 'No person shall fish for, disturb, harass, catch or take any aquatic mammal or turtle which is found beyond the jurisdiction of any State in Malaysia'. Anyone found guilty can be fined an amount not exceeding RM5000.

In view of this, WWF-Malaysia has contacted the enforcement agencies and provided them with the relevant video and pictures related to the incident for their investigation and further action. If found guilty the penalty may not amount to much, but what we are hoping for is an increased awareness among the public that snorkelling activities such as this should be completely rejected. It is disheartening to witness the tourists harassing the turtle and WWF-Malaysia needs more members of the public to help spread the message so that these incidents do not occur again.

Should the public encounter any future issues regarding marine turtles, we would encourage you to also report the matter to us, as well as to the Department of Fisheries (abkhalil@dof.gov.my, chekley@dof.gov.my) and Department of Marine Parks (fariha@nre.gov.my). Early reporting of such incidents will enable the authorities to take swift action. We would like to thank you again for your support to these ancient marine creatures.

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About WWF-Malaysia:
WWF-Malaysia (World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia), the national conservation trust, currently runs more than 90 projects covering a diverse range of environmental protection work. Since 1972, WWF-Malaysia has worked on important conservation projects, from saving endangered species such as tigers and turtles, to protecting our highland forests, rivers and seas. We also undertake environmental education and advocacy work to achieve conservation goals. By conserving our natural resources, WWF-Malaysia is helping to protect our livelihoods, food and water supply, thus securing our good quality of life and our children’s bright future. We thank our supporters and members of the Media, whose contributions and support enable our conservation work.

If you would like to donate to WWF-Malaysia or learn more about our projects, please call: +603-78033772 or visit: www.wwf.org.my or www.facebook.com/wwfmy