Bid to save sea-turtle breeding grounds

Sirinat Marine National Park chief Somkiat Sunthornpitakkul said that sea turtles were killed by fishing nets, refuse such as plastic bags and wastewater and, more frequently, intrusion by humans into breeding grounds.

Marine and Coastal Resources Department preservation and restoration director Pinsak Suraswadi said 40 experts and environmentalists met yesterday at a Thalang-district hotel to discuss the protection of egg-laying grounds.

With the rapid development of beaches, turtle egg-laying grounds have declined. The few left undisturbed have become the centre of conservation efforts, he explained.

Pinsak said agencies including the Navy, Fisheries Department, private foundations and the public were caring for these breeding areas.

But they were limited by a shortage of staff, money and technical knowledge. This resulted in "varied success", he said. It was necessary to set up guidelines for effective management of breeding grounds and a cooperative network to collect information for the study of marine life.

Yesterday's meeting is a follow-up to one last year at Laem Panwa that proposed guidelines for turtle-nursery management.

Salinee Prab

The Nation