September 1998

Vol. 13, No. 9     What's this?

Sea Turtle for Supper

from the September, 1998 issue of Undercurrent  

On the Indonesian island of Sangalaki, Borneo Divers pays the local turtle egg collector to leave the eggs in the sand to hatch instead of digging them up to be sold as aphrodisiacs.

But, according to Indonesian news sources, Derawan Dive Resort, which dives Sangalaki, traps protected green sea turtles to serve as "special" meals to visiting divers. Villagers on Derawan Island, who are paid by conservation agencies to raise hatchling sea turtles for eventual release, have observed resort personnel trapping and slaughtering sea turtles whenever divers arrive at the island. The resort apparently hosts 25-30 divers a month, which has led to speculation that at least 300 turtles, many of them semi-tame hatchlings recently released near the beach, have already ended up on diver's plates.

Governmental authorities have reportedly written the resort to let them know that consumption of turtle meat is prohibited.