_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 

REPORT ON INVESTIGATION OF SEA TURTLE TRAFFICKING IN SOUTH EAST SULAWESI 2007

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By. ProFauna Indonesia / www.profauna.org

I. INTRODUCTION

The Indonesian archipelago is home to 6 out of 7 of the world.s marine turtle species. These are:

Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) . IUCN status: EN endangered

Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) . IUCN status: CR critically endangered

Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) . IUCN status: EN endangered

Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) . IUCN status: EN endangered

Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) . IUCN status: CR critically endangered

Flat back sea turtles (Natator depressus) . IUCN status: DD . conservation status: threatened

Based on the Indonesian State.s Legislation no. 5 of 1990 on Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems and the Government.s regulation no. 7 of 1999, regarding the Protection of Fauna and Flora, all turtles in Indonesian Seas are protected. The trade of turtles and their body parts is therefore forbidden.

From the results of ProFauna Indonesia.s indepth investigation on the trade of turtles in Bali from 1999 to 2001, it has been uncovered that one of the locations of poaching was in Sulawesi. Despite the fact that turtle trafficking in Bali has decreased by 80%, poaching still goes on discreetly.

In 2005 members of ProFauna Indonesia in Sulawesi reported that large volume of turtle poaching was taking place in Kendari area, South East Sulawesi. From initial information, it was ascertained that the turtles were being smuggled to Bali.

For this reason ProFauna Indonesia conducted an investigation on turtle trafficking in the area of South east Sulawesi from April to June 2007, with the support and funding from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

1.1. OBJECTIVES:

 To obtain data, information and evidence on sea turtle· trafficking in South East

Sulawesi  To obtain under cover film and photographic evidence on· the trafficking of sea turtle in South East Sulawesi

1.2. Field Investigator Execution:

Total investigators = 6 persons. Core team consisted of 3 trained investigators, lead by Darmanto, assisted by Hari and supervised by Rosek Nursahid. Supporting investigator team consisted of 3 personnel: Iman, Udin and Bakri.

1.3. Time:

The investigation was conducted from the month of April . June 2007.

1.4 Locations of Investigation:

South East Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tenggara) is a province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. The capital of the province is Kendari, on the east coast of the peninsula. Sulawesi has rich marine bio diversity and is known as one of the best diving spots.

The province is one of the most remote regions of Sulawesi; no highway connects it to the cities on the rest of the island, so the primary transportation link is a ferry across th0e Bone Sea between Watampone (Bone) in South Sulawesi and the port of Kolaka. The population of the province is centred on Buton island off the south coast of Sulawesi and in and around Kendari.

From the seventeenth century until the early twentieth century, the region was the site of the Buton (Butung) Sultanate. The main ethnic groups in South East Sulawesi are "Tolaki" "Muna" etc.

Administrative Divisions

South East Sulawesi is divided into 2 municipalities and several regencies:

Regencies:

· Kolaka

· Kolaka Utara

· Kendari

· Konawe Selatan

· Bombana

· Buton

· Muna

· Wakatobi

Municipalities:

· Kendari

· Baubau

Investigators worked in 6 different regencies to collect data and evidence, these areas are:

Langara, Regency of Konawe Selatan.·

Moramo, Regency of Konawe Selatan.·

Soropia, Regency of Konawe Selatan.·

Wanci, Regency of Wakatobi·

Ereke, Regency of Buton Utara·

Tikep,· Regency of Muna

II. FINDING

2.1. Investigation in Langara, Regency of Konawe Selatan.

Langara is one of the populous regencies in Wawoni Island off South East Sulawesi. It can be reached by ferry or motor boat in 3 . 4 hours.

A few years ago, turtles were traded openly here, however such trade can no longer be found. Investigators found that most of the former turtle traders are now trading in fish. They are aware that trading sea turtles is forbidden and against the law.

2.2. Investigation in Wanci, Kabupaten Wakatobi

Wakatobi is a collection of small islands in the Banda Sea, south east of the mainland of Sulawesi. The main islands of WAnci, KAledupa, TOmea, BInongko have some superb reefs and one of the best diving spots with rich marine life.

Wanci is the capital of Wakatobi Regency. Wakatobi Sea has been declared as a National Marine Park. However, from ProFauna.s 1999 data, Wanci is one of the sources of sea turtles to Tanjung Benoa in Bali.

Since the trafficking of turtles has come to the government.s attention, there have been

consfiscations of turtles which were destined for Bali Island. Nowadays, the poaching and the turtle trade have become much more discreet. Only regular .business customers. can buy from those turtle traders in Wanci.

Normally the poached turtles are kept in the ponds at locals. home. Due to the discreet nature of the trade, shipments to Bali are made 3 times per annum, about 200 turtles per consignment. The turtles are loaded from the ponds on to motor vessels from Bali.

From the information supplied by the staff of The Nature Conservancy Office (BKSDA) covering the Wakatobi National Park, one of the suspects of turtle trafficking is Haji (Haj) Gega. He is a well-known seafood supplier in Wanci town. The local community know him as a supplier of grouper fish and seaweed to Tanjung Pinang (Sumatra) for export to Singapore.

To cheat the authorities, the turtles were smuggled in the form of cut up meat mixed with fish. A former turtle trader called Ismail, who no longer sells turtles since 2004, mentioned that he was able to send 800 turtles to Bali and that the turtle business was profitable compared to other seafood trade. He admitted that the turtle trafficking is becoming more difficult nowadays due to the frequency of law enforcement operations by the authority. Ismail is now trading in fish and seashells.

The turtles, which were traded in Wanci, were poached from the National Park Wakatobi and Buton Island. Despite active patrol from the authority, the poachers do not give up and manages to find a way through the patrols.

Turtles from Wanci are sold by the poachers at Indonesian Rp 100,000 (approx US$ 12) each.

The price of each adult turtle (with shell length measuring 70 cm) sold by the Balinese fishermen is more than three times at Rp 450,000 (US$ 50) and about Rp 70,000 (US$ 8) for young turtle with shell length measuring 20 cm to 50 cm.

2.3. Investigation in Moramo, Regency of Konawe Selatan.

Moramo is one of the districts of Konawe Selatan (South) Regency, which is known as a turtle trading area. The investigators found an active poacher cum trafficker called Mr Syam. Turtle trafficking is a secondary business to his main business of fish and corals for construction material. When fishing, he regularly finds and catches turtles, normally using a spear. Mr Syam admitted that he was visited by the authorities and was asked to release the turtles, which he kept in his pond. He is aware that trafficking in turtle is illegal. Because there are buyers who are prepared to pay a good price, he is still trading in turtles until now. The buyers

normally come from Kendari town. He is able to sell at least 5 turtles per week. Mr Syam is a discreet turtle trader and only sells to the customers he trusts.

Mr Syam keeps and collects the poached turtles in an area located in a mangrove forest about ½ km from his house. This captivity enclosure is well hidden and is difficult to search. Mr Syam sells each adult turtle at Rp 150,000 (approx US$ 17) and Rp 75,000 (US$ 9) for each young turtle. Most of the turtles were poached from Teluk Moramo (Moramo Bay).

2.4. Investigation in Ereke, Regency of Buton Utara

Ereke is located in Goram Peninsula of Buton Island. The area is very remote without any access to telecommunication. To reach this area one must go by speedboat for about 1 hour from Raha town, the capital of Muna Regency, then by car for about 4 . 5 hours through the jungle. Up until November 2006, there were many vessels sailing from Wanci to purchase turtles in

Ereke, however the trade volume has declined due to the patrol, where the Indonesian National Marine Corps often instructed the traffickers to release the poached turtles into the sea. Despite its decline, the trade of turtles in Ereke still goes on, even if only on the level of local consumption. Most of the turtles traded were caught in fishing nets or lobster pots. Quite often the turtles were trapped in the permanent tidal fish nets known as sero. The active turtle traffickers in Ereke are Laani and Gusrin. Fisermen would normally catch turtles when there are special request from buyers for wedding feasts. Turtles are slaughtered to replace chicken or beef. The local citizens consume turtle meat due to its low cost compared to chicken or beef. The cost of adult turtle is about Rp 70,000 . Rp 100,000 (US $8 - $11). In one banquet there would be 10 large turtles consumed.

Aside for parties, turtle meat is also eaten as an accompaniment to alcoholic beverages.

2.5. Investigation in Tikep, Regency of Muna

This investigation is more focused in the Seas of Tiworo Islands. The investigator found a poacher, Mr Muhamad, whose main occupation is seaweed farming. However, Mr Mohamad also sets trap to catch rays. He said that he would get at least one turtle each week trapped in the nets. The turtles would be released to avoid further damage to his fish net, however if there is an order from the Balinese settlers in the island, he would sell the turtles to them. Each month he would sell minimum two adult turtles at Rp 50,000 (US$ 6) each.

2.6. Investigation in Soropia, Regency of Konawe

Soropia area is known as the turtle trade centre in Kendari Municipality. Prior to 2006, many turtles were smuggled to Bali and Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi. The requests from Tana Toraja increases during New Year and turtles are smuggled in the form of meat. During their visit, ProFauna.s investigators could not find evidence of turtle trading. The disappearance of this trade has been subsequent to the two turtle traders caught by the authorities from Nature Conservancy Office (BKSDA), Dept of Forestry in March 2007, and who were sentenced to 3 months imprisonment.

III. DISCUSSION

Poaching and trading of turtles in South East Sulawesi still goes on although numbers have declined compared to pre 2006. From the six locations visited by the investigator team, which used to be known as turtle poaching areas, there are four locations where turtle trading is still active, these are Wanci, Moramo, Ereke and Tikep

The trade of turtles in South East Sulawesi takes place in the north coast, particularly near Banda Sea. Besides local consumption, the turtles were smuggled to other areas, particularly to Bali. From various field information, the investigators learned that the turtles sent to Bali were also poached from Central Sulawesi from Padei and Masudihang Islands.

The area from where most turtles were sourced is Wanci. On average there are 600 turtles traded in Wanci per year, caught mostly from the Wakatobi National Park, the marineconservation area. Turtles caught from Ereke, of Buton Utara Regency were also traded here. In Wanci area, turtles are kept non discreetly in the ponds of private homes of the locals. Whenever there are motor vessels calling from Bali, the turtles are loaded up on board of these ships. It would have been easy for the authority to confiscate the turtles, because the ponds where the turtles are kept are easily visible. When ProFauna.s investigators visited Wanci in

May 2007, there were 30 turtles kept in those holding ponds. There is a strong suspicion that Haji Gega, the well-known marine product trader, is the active trafficker in Wanci who smuggles turtles to Bali. Nearly most fishermen met by the

investigators confirmed that Haji Gega is still actively trading in turtles. However, during the visit to Wanci, ProFauna.s investigator could not obtain proof on his business of sending turtles to Bali, because there was no shipment at the time of the investigation. The shipments are irregular, about 2 . 3 trips per year.

To gather evidence about the shipment of turtles to Bali, would require a minimum of 6 months field investigation and posting a full time investigator in Wanci. This method had been proven to be successful when ProFauna uncovered the illegal trade of turtles in Tanjung Benoa in Bali.

ProFauna.s investigator stayed further a 3 months in disguise, until video evidence was obtained.

3.1. Law Enforcement

The decline of turtle trading in South East Sulawesi is due to the confiscation operation conducted by BKSDA (Nature Conservation of Natural Resources Office) of the Dept of Forestry, the police and the Marine Police. In the last two years, the authorities have confiscated about 300 turtles, mostly poached from the National Park of Wakatobi.Up until April 2007, BKSDA foiled 2 turtle trafficking attempts. The first was on 15 March 2007 when two motor vessels, .Sinar Hiu. and .Gema Ilahi. with a cargo of 12 turtles between them, were confiscated by the authority. On 27 March, 9 turtles were confiscated from a trader named Sariyono in Moramo. The cases are undergoing legal process at present. Before December 2006, two turtle traders from Soropia, Abu Hasan and Ahasa were detained. As a consequence, in May 2007 they were sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. Since then the turtle trade has declined drastically and during the visit in May 2007 ProFauna.s investigator team could not find any turtles being traded in Soropia.

This shows that serious law enforcement effectively reduces turtle trafficking. The same case happened in Bali after the massive turtle confiscations during 2001.

Despite the decline, this does not mean the turtle trade has completely stopped. ProFauna.s investigation has uncovered that the trade of turtle still continues discreetly in South East Sulawesi. It is estimated that about 1,115 turtles are still poached and traded per annum. The decline in the number of turtles trafficked is quite drastic. One of the traders called Ismail admitted that in 2004 he could send up to 800 turtles to Bali per month. This means that there were approximately 9,600 turtles sent to Bali per annum. This is the figure from only one trader, there were far more turtle traders at that time. The law enforcement authority in South East Sulawesi has attempted to control the turtle trade, although not to maximum effect. The range of seas in that area covers up to 110,000 km2 or 11,000,000 ha, which makes it very difficult. However, Mr Sahid, a staff from South East Sulawesi BKSDA authority, stated that during 2006 . 2007 the authority has confiscated hundreds of turtles and imprisoned two turtle traders.

3.2. Turtle species traded and their price:

The species mainly traded in South East Sulawesi is the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). This

species is consumed for meat by locals and exported to Bali Island. The turtle meat

consumption increases for wedding celebrations or the New Year feast, as well as being accompaniment to alcoholic beverages. The choice to consume turtle meats is due to the cost, which is cheaper compared to chicken or beef. In Ereke, one large adult turtle only cost Rp 70,000 . Rp 100,000 (US$ 8 - $12), cheaper

than the beef at Rp 50,000 (US$ 6) per kilo.

The other factor that drives the poaching is the high price paid by the visiting buyer vessels from Bali. It is more profitable than selling fish. The price paid by the Balinese vessels/buyers is about Rp 450,000 or US$ 47 per adult turtle. The demand for turtle meat from Bali continuously drives the poaching in South East Sulawesi.

3.3.Method of Turtle Poaching and Smuggling
In general, there are 3 methods of poaching in South East Sulawesi. By net, spear and sero. Sero is a local name for large fish net trappers constructed and installed permanently in the sea, taking advantage of low and high tides. Fish are trapped in these giant nets during the low tide and are unable to escape. Quite often turtles are also trapped in seros. The trapped turtles are collected and kept in the collection ponds not far from the fishermen.s home, such as in Wanci. Some are kept and well hidden in mangroves, such as the one in Moramo. The poached turtles are bought by suppliers who re-sell them to buyers from Bali. To smuggle turtles to Bali, turtles were slaughtered and their meat cut up before shipment. As

concealment, the turtle meat is packed in styrofoam boxes and placed below fish and prawns containers. To unsuspecting eyes, the vessels are only carrying legal marine products. Aside from transportation in meat form, traffickers occasionally also smuggle live turtles. However to avoid detection such methods have generally been dropped by the smugglers. At present most of the vessels smuggling turtles from Sulawesi do not dock upon arrival at Tanjung Benoa, the centre of turtle trade in Bali. The vessels normally anchor offshore to unload the turtles or turtle meat onto smaller motor boats to avoid any suspicion from the authorities.

lV. CONCLUSION

 The poaching and the trading of green turtles (·Chelonia mydas) still go on in South East Sulawesi despite the decline since 2006. The locations where turtles are actively traded are Wanci, Moramo, Ereke and Tikep. Approximately 1,115 turtles are poached per annum in South East Sulawesi for trade.

Of the areas above, Wanci is the bigger place for turtle· trade. Most are poached from the Wakatobi National Park conservation area. Despite patroling from the authority, the poaching still goes on discreetly.

The trafficking of turtle in South East Sulawesi has a· strong connection with the illegal turtle trade in Bali. In addition to local consumption, turtle meat is also smuggled to Bali. The demand from Bali for turtle meat drives the poaching up in South East Sulawesi. However to obtain concrete evidence such as undercover filming or photographs on the turtle smuggling process from Sulawesi to Bali will require more time due to the irregularity of the shipment to Bali of 2 . 3 voyages per year, which cannot be predicted in advance.

The law to protect turtles has been enforced by the BKSDA· authority, Dept of Forestry, Police and the Marine Police. Such enforcement seems to have curbed the turtle trading in South East Sulawesi. However, it is not to the maximum effect due to the area size covered and the limited government funding.