GEORGE TOWN, May 14 – The Fisheries Department (DOF) declared Teluk Bahang beach near here as a turtle nesting site on Monday and set up the Marine Conservation Centre at Angsana Resort to care, conserve and manage the endangered species.
The centre is part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme by Aquawalk Group Sdn Bhd and Angsana Resort with Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) as technical advisor for the conservation and rehabilitation of endangered species such as turtles.
DOF deputy director-general (management) Wan Muhammad Aznan Abdullah said that with this effort, turtle landings could rise based on records between 2019 and 2023, Penang had 292 landings with 27,701 eggs discovered and 17,607 hatchings.
“The hotel has partnered with the DOF, and we will release the turtles from here only, not at other sites. The two species identified landing around Penang beaches are the green sea turtle and the olive ridley sea turtle, which are focused at Pantai Kerachut, Teluk Kampi and Teluk Bahang,” he told reporters after signing the memorandum of understanding with Aquawalk Group (Aquaria KLCC) and the prelaunch of the conservation centre at Angsana Resort on Monday.
The MoU, signed by Wan Muhammad Aznan and Aquaria KLCC managing director Datuk Simon Foong, and witnessed by Balik Pulau MP Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik, is to build cooperation regarding the management and conservation of endangered aquatic species such as turtles, marine mammals and coral in terms of education and to raise public awareness.
