A Meeting with the Guardians of Marine Turtle

Chloe Lim

I remember the good ol’ days where I spent most of my weekends and school holidays with my uncle at Silam beach. We used to climb over the hills and swam in the ocean together. I once thought that I was fearless; not until I brought my uncle's attention to a shredded piece of coral reef, claiming credit for removing the sinister piece that had just glided across my skin. He wasn't happy... 

That evening, I was penalised to sweep up the beach with my untreated wound that tingled every time it touched the water.

I had never seen someone take up the responsibility to protect the ocean as seriously as he did. After the unfortunate incident where my uncle drowned to death in the crashing waves on the 24th of April 2005, I thought I would never meet someone who was as passionate of the ocean as he was. But 12 years later, I knew I was wrong.

WWF-Malaysia has a team of conservation warriors who are based in Kudat. On the 17th of November 2017, I arrived at the fieldhouse at 9 a.m. in the morning, feeling excited for an interview with the Honorary Wildlife Wardens (HWW) from Tigabu Island. Anticipation always makes the wait seem longer. The wardens were supposed to arrive at 10 a.m. but they did not make it till 2 p.m. after lunch. I dislike latecomers, but not for this time because I was told that they have to sail across the rough Sulu Sea and at that moment, I only wanted to see them arrive safely. 




From left, Mr Absan, Mr Neng, Ms Sarmalin (WWF-Malaysia), Mr Asrin, Mr Sulaiman, and Mr Asri (WWF-Malaysia)


After the first island-based Marine Turtle Festival held within Tun Mustapha Park (TMP), the host of the event Tigabu Youth Club (Kelab Belia Tigabu) which is also known as the Honorary Wildlife Warden (HWW)
 went ashore to Kudat town for a meeting with WWF-Malaysia. The main objective of this meeting was to update on their turtle conservation work on the Tigabu-Tambulian-Kukuban Island Complex; which includes Pulau Kukuban, Pulau Mantabuan, Pulau Tibakan, Pulau Tigaba, and Pulau Tambulian. I met four of the wardens this time. Absan caught my attention at first because he has a long beard that matches just right with his thick eyebrows. Neng is an introvert, but the passion for conservation does not fade in his eyes. Sulaiman on the other hand, is a strong supporter to Absan, and has a great sense of humour too. Lastly, I lack description for Asrin after claiming Neng as an introvert, because Asrinnever speaks but I believe his actions speak louder. 

The meeting was initiated by Mr Mohd Asri from WWF-Malaysia’s Kudat office, reporting on marine turtle conservation that has been done within the Tigabu-Tambulian-Kukuban Island Complex to date. Efforts in the past seven months include (1) Honorary Wildlife Warden courses, (2) Honorary Ranger courses, (3) Inspection and Impeachment of Turtle Crime, (4) a Turtle SOP Workshop, and (5) Practice of Kedamparan Marine Mammals. Agencies involved in marine turtle conservation include Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Parks, Kudat Territory Maritime, District Office of Banggi, and WWF-Malaysia.

The patrolling started from April 2017. Since then, 21 persons participate in patrolling, which is a 20-person increment in participation from KBT, HWWs, rangers, and the local community. It is also worth noting that 807 turtles were hatched and released by the wardens; where 599 of them were green turtles, while the rest were hawksbill turtles. 161 of both species of turtles combined did not hatch. The wardens believe that the reasons for unsuccessful hatchlings include fish bombing, and turtle egg collection among the local community. “The communities in Tigabu claim to be responsible for the turtle eggs laid on their island; therefore for many occasions, we were not able to collect and release the hatchlings. I think we should construct a schedule to restrict the locals from taking the turtle eggs on some specific days, perhaps once a fortnight,” said Absan.

When the wardens were asked about the challenges they face during patrolling, they seemed to have a book of stories to tell. 
  • Firstly, fishing vessels of all kinds approach Kukuban Island not only for fishing purposes but also to reside on or around the island. This issue deters marine turtles that intend to rest on nearshore waters and in a worst-case scenario, suffocates them. 
  • Secondly, the wardens require a consistent law and regulation from the authorised parties in monitoring fishery activities around the islands. 
  • Not only that, bad weather has always been one of their safety concerns when it comes to patrolling, especially when covering an area of 37.15 kilometres.
After an in-depth discussion on their future work plan, the HWWs and WWF-Malaysia agreed to focus their conservation efforts on capacity building through practical workshops, awareness activities that involve local schools, set-up of conservation areas, and advancement in patrolling. The patrolling advancement requires work from both parties on the introduction of a tagging applicator and training for new patrolling wardens.

The meeting ended at 5 in the evening and I would like to dedicate this wrap-up to my turtle hatchling experience hosted by Kudat Turtle Conservation Society (KTCS) not long ago. 



Sunset at Simpang Mengayau did not cease to amaze me.

Apparently the backlight was too strong to have me hidden in this selfie.

We arrived just on time, but for this beautiful occasion, I agree that we should arrive earlier.


When they were released to the ocean, I was tense and I prayed that they survive.


All photos are credited to Chloe Lim. 
Edited by Kimberly Chung.
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