How is this connected to Sentosa?A satellite tracking study of Hawksbill sea turtles that nest on Pulau Upeh found that at least one of them, named Puteri Pulau Upeh (or Princess of Pulau Upeh) had spent most of her time in the waters off Sentosa!
And sea turtles have also been sighted in many locations among our Southern Islands.Pulau Upeh lies just off Melaka.
Every year, between 200 to 300 Hawksbill turtle nests are identified in Pulau Upeh and the nearby beaches. This population is significant as it is the largest nesting congregation in Peninsular Malaysia.
Also, there is a 75% average hatch rate of Pulau Upeh turtle eggs handled by WWF-Malaysia; a 70% hatch rate is considered successful. (From Save our Sea Turtles by WWF on WildAsia 16 Feb 08)
The state government would be working with a private investor. Planned development includes upgrading the 120 chalets that had been abandoned for 10 years and construction of new ones. Work on the island will begin next month and is expected to be completed in a year.
Hawksbill turtles that nested on Pulau Upeh may travel 200 to 300 km to forage in the Riau Archipelago in Indonesian seas and the southern Singaporean waters, a satellite tracking study by WWF-Malaysia found. This discovery is a compelling reason to initiate transboundary, multinational efforts to conserve turtles. (From Save our Sea Turtles by WWF on WildAsia 16 Feb 08)
However, Worldwide Fund for Nature Malaysia chief technical officer for peninsular Malaysia Surin Suksuwan expressed shock when told of the revived resort project. “We are concerned that the project, if carried out indiscriminately, will result in irreversible impact on the turtles nesting and their nesting behaviour,” he said. He said the WWF had briefed state officials three weeks ago on the turtles and proposed a low-impact turtle eco-tourism project.
Full articles on plans for Pulau Upeh on the wildsingapore news blog.
Other media articles on the issue
- Call for detailed EIA on Pulau Upeh development WWF 18 Aug 09;
- WWF-Malaysia Shocked Melaka To Develop Pulau Upeh Bernama 27 Jul 09;
- State defers Pulau Upeh redevelopment The Star 6 Aug 09;
- Sea turtle seen at Terumbu Raya (23 Jul 09). On the wild shores of singapore blog.
- Sea turtle seen at Terumbu Raya (10 Feb 09). On the wild shores of singapore blog.
- Sea turtle spotted near Lazarus (29 Dec 08). On the wonderful creations blog.
- Sea turtle spotted near Cyrene Reefs (28 Jul 08). On the wildfilms blog.
- Sea Turtle spotted at Semakau! (12 Nov 07) Sadly it wasn't doing too well. On the urban forest blog.
- Sea turtle spotted near Pulau Jong (14 Oct 07). On HB's memories.
- Hawksbill turtle near Sentosa (Sep 06 until Sep 07) tagged with satellite transmitter as part of a WWF Malaysia project on the News from International Coastal Cleanup blog
- Hawksbill turtle spotted at Pulau Hantu (8 Apr 07). On the Fire and Light blog
- Hawksbill turtle hatchling rescue and release at East Coast Park (23 May 06) More photos and lots more details of this on the habitatnews blog
- Turtles rescued from drains (23 May 06) more photos of the rescue on the ubin volunteer blog
- Blue Tempeh meets Aunty Betsy under the sea (Pulau Hantu) (21 Feb 06) photos and story on the habitatnews blog
- RF Xplore explores Hantu (21 Feb 06) with photos of sea turtle and lots of other marine life on The Blue Tempeh blog
- Wonderful diving at Pulau Hantu (4 Feb 06) with lots of photos of the sea turtle on the Colourful Clouds blog
- Sea turtle seen on Hantu Bloggers' first anniversary dive (Mar 05) on the habitatnews blog
