Another green turtle found dead in Dungun, tied with bricks

KUALA TERENGGANU - Another carcass of the green turtle (penyu agar) was found washed up on Teluk Bidara Beach near Dungun today.

It was believed to have been intentionally harmed, Abidah Zaaba, the Lang Tengah Turtle Watch Conservation Project Manager at the Tanjong Jara Resort here said.

Abidah said she received a call from the public at 8am and rushed to the beach, where she found that the dead turtle had been tied with bricks in an attempt to weigh it down to the seabed.

"This irresponsible act may have been the work of fishermen who want to prevent turtles from accidentally getting entangled in their nets.

"But it’s difficult to determine right now if the turtle was alive or dead when it was sunk to the bottom of the sea,” she said when contacted by Bernama today.

Last Thursday, a female green turtle was found dead floating in the waters of Pulau Kapas near Marang with a cut on its neck, believed to be an easy way out for fishermen to save their nets.

Abidah said the carcass that was found this morning is believed to died about a week ago.

"We estimate its age to be between 15 and 20 years old, but its gender could not be identified because the tail part has rotted badly," she said while hoping that strict action would be taken soon to ensure that such turtle deaths do not happen again. - BERNAMA