KUALA PENYU was named for the obvious reason - the penyu or turtles.
Illegal turtle egg collection on the coastal district over the years however has led to the decline in landings.
In a bid to revive the district reputation that comes with its name, policy makers led by its District Officer Edmund Teoh launched a special hatchery programme in April.
Assisted and managed by the Sabah Wildlife Department, the District Action Committee Turtle Hatchery Programme successfully released 92 Hawksbill hatchlings at the Kampung Menumpang beach on June 18.
The hatchlings were from a batch of 102 turtle eggs found by a participant of the community based programme, Guachin Jusoh, who subsequently transferred it to the hatchery.
Sabah Wildlife director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu cited the project as a noble effort which the Sabah Wildlife Department fully supports.
“We hope that this concerted effort will be able to bring back the ‘penyu’ to Kuala Penyu,” said Laurentius.
"A second batch of 105 eggs have been discovered and transferred to the hatchery and we hope to see more hatchlings to be released before the end of the year.
“No doubt, this programme will take a while to gain momentum but we are now on the right track,” Laurentius added.
The programme follows the Turtle Islands Park conservation centre in Sandakan.
The park consists of a network of three islands within the Turtle Islands, namely Selingan, Bakkungan Kechil and Gulisan islands. The park comes under the Sabah Parks.
The first turtle conservation site in Sabah and Malaysia was established on Selingan Island, Sandakan back in 1966.
Selingan Island is also the only turtle conservation site to offer chalets for overnight visitors who wish to witness the turtle egg-laying.
Marine turtles are one of the oldest-living species on earth, having been around for at least 230 million years.
Sabah has oldest turtle conservation program in the world that also has the most detailed statistics and research.