DUNGUN: The Terengganu Fisheries Department recorded the deaths of 59 Green turtles in the state last year, up from 47 in the previous year, said director Abdul Khalil Abdul Karim.
He said the death rate was high and most worrying as the turtle population was dwindling.
Abdul Khalil said 54 of the turtles were females or juveniles and five were males.
The last recorded death of the year occurred at the end of December, he said, adding that it was a female turtle that was found dead on the Teluk Ketapang beach in Kuala Terengganu.
Abdul Khalil said most of the deaths occurred between January and April in Kerteh, Kemaman, Paka, Kuala Terengganu and Dungun.
He also said that a Green turtle tagged ‘MY TGG’ that had come to nest in Paka, Kerteh, was found dead last year at the Pulau Banyan Tree Resort in the Riau Islands of Indonesia.
Pulau Redang continued to be the main landing place of the Green turtle last year, followed by the Geliga beach in Kemaman and Pulau Perhentian, he said.
He also said that there were no reported landings of the Leatherback turtle in Terengganu last year. -- Bernama