Hundreds of turtles seized on boat heading to Bali Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni,
The Jakarta Post 23 feb,
Denpasar
The Bali Water Police seized hundreds of green turtles (Selemonia Midas) Wednesday, which were about to arrive on the island.
The confiscation of the turtles shows that Bali is still one of the major destinations for trading in protected species.
“We had earlier received information from the public about hundreds of green turtles being sent to Bali. The report proved to be true, and we intercepted a boat filled with the turtles about five nautical miles from the coastline, between Nusa Penida and Kusamba at about 3 p.m. local time,” Bali Water Police unit chief, Sr. Adj. Comr. Agus Sutikno, said in Sanur.
The protected animals were brought in from Seleos island in South Sulawesi, on board the KM Karya Mandiri motorboat, skippered by Hayat, 51, with three crew members.
Based on a 1999 government regulation on green turtles and a 1990 law on natural resources and conservation, the rare animal species is protected under the law.
Hayat admitted to having shipped one hundred green turtles with shells measuring 20 to 50 centimeters in diameter.
He also admitted the turtles were intended to fill a number of orders on Bali island.
Agus said, “We can’t just accept the captain’s confession. We will unload the shipment and count the turtles again in the presence of environmental groups and the Natural Resources Conservation Agency.”
Police have named the captain a suspect and he is now being detained at Bali Water Police Headquarters to undergo further interrogation, while the three crew members have been named witnesses.
The suspect faces a maximum five-year prison sentence if convicted.
Four of the confiscated turtles were released at Sanur beach at about 6 p.m. local time Wednesday.
“We will release them to the sea Thursday afternoon after we’ve finished counting them. The turtles will have metal rings attached to them and will be released at Kuta beach, while we’ll keep two of them for evidence,” said Agus. The seizure was the first of its kind this year, but in 2005, at least five turtle smuggling attempts in Bali were aborted by police.