KUALA LUMPUR: Cases of dead turtles turning up have drastically increased since 2020 due to fishing and tourism activities, says marine biologist Nurul Ainni Mazlan.
This is following a viral video which was uploaded by Ainni showing her discovery of a mutilated turtle believed to have been hit by a speeding boat at Terengganu.
The video shows a group of employees from a resort carrying a dead turtle with a gaping hole in its shell back to shore.
The turtle, with its internal organs exposed was then placed into plastic bags before being buried at the beach.
Ainni said although many factors lead to turtle deaths, turtle-feeding activities have been apparent at Pulau Redang, Terengganu.
She said such activities could lead to a change in the turtles' natural behaviour, turning them to become more docile and potentially approach the boats.
"Due to turtle-feeding, the turtles don't look for their food. So, they will not perform their ecological function which is not good for Pulau Redang's ecosystem because turtles are better off eating seaweed.
"More scientific evidence is needed for this case. (But) Isn't it a principle around the world that we are not allowed to feed wildlife?" she asked when contacted by the New Straits Times.
Ainni hopes for better regulation and enforcement from authorities when monitoring tourism activities, especially during peak hours on holidays.
"I'm not ruling out other causes of death, but from what I see is that many boats are coming from various jetties without any regulation.
"During the school holidays, around 70 to 80 boats at one time will flood the Teluk Dalam area with a large number of tourists, in addition to unregulated boat speeds.
"I don't want us to normalise this dead turtle cases because we hear about it every year," she said.
She also expressed her concerns that the dead turtle incident will paint a negative image towards the tourist destinations that will eventually lead to a decline in tourist activities