Press Releases

Green Turtle returns to nest in Hong Kong
Friday, December 22, 2000

Endangered Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) returned to nest in Hong Kong following its last nesting here two years ago. A total of 23 baby turtles were hatched this year under the care of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD).

Releasing baby turtles to the sea is the usual way to protect the species. Nevertheless, as the sea water temperature is now too low for the baby turtles, AFCD considered that it was not suitable to release them back to the sea at this time of the year. It decided to transfer 18 of them to the Ocean Park for temporary care while AFCD keeps the rest for further study.

AFCD Acting Senior Wetland and Fauna Conservation Officer Mr Simon Chan said today (December 22), "We will release the baby turtles to the sea about eight months later in the next nesting season when the sea water is warmer and hydrographic conditions permit."

Green Turtles usually come to nest from early June to the end of August. On September 29 at a time later than the usual sea turtle nesting season, a mother turtle laid 107 eggs at Tai Long Wan beach, Shek O, on Hong Kong Island. As it is a popular beach which is subject to disturbances due to human activities, it was not a suitable place for natural incubation of turtle eggs. Therefore the eggs were removed by AFCD staff for artificial incubation.

After two months of incubation at about 30 degrees Celsius in an incubator, 23 eggs hatched into baby turtles. The baby turtles were able to swim instinctively. The rest of the eggs were later found to be infertile.

"After the baby turtles were hatched in November, we have considered seriously the possibility of releasing them to the sea. However, the sea water temperature at that time was too low for the baby turtles. Cold-stunning may occur and the baby turtles would become inactive. It would be very hard for them to survive and make their long trips back to their parent's living area which is likely to be thousands of kilometres away.

"Therefore, we decided to seek the assistance of the Ocean Park which has the facilities and expertise to take care of the baby turtles," Mr Chan explained.

Expressing a warm welcome to the guest turtles, Curator of Aquarium of the Ocean Park Mr David Lai said, "We are very pleased to work together with AFCD in the conservation of the endangered Green Turtle. The baby turtles are now kept in our aquarium tank. We are feeding them with fish-fry, squids and formulated feeds. Our veterinarians are looking after them attentively."

As for the Green Turtles' common nesting beach at Sham Wan, Lamma Island, Mr Chan said two clutches of eggs were laid in late June and early August. They were left in situ in the sandy beach of the nesting site for natural incubation. However, all the 268 eggs were later found infertile. As a result no sea turtles were hatched there.

Mr Chan said AFCD would examine the unhatched eggs to look into the causes of infertility. "We hope the study will help us know more about Green Turtle and hence take further steps to conserve this endangered species," he noted.

On the other hand, AFCD has started tagging sea turtles this year so as to learn more about the identity and migratory pattern of sea turtles coming to Hong Kong. A small alloy tag which was crafted with a unique code number and address was attached to the female turtle's flipper before it returned to the sea after nesting. The first turtle tagged in Hong Kong was given a code number "HK-001".

"The tagging exercise is part of our sea turtle conservation program. It will enable us to identify an individual turtle nesting in Hong Kong and help us to estimate the size and nesting habits of the sea turtles that come to Hong Kong. We will also know where it goes when someone else see the turtle in other parts of the world and inform us later," said Mr Chan.

Green Turtle is a highly endangered species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is one of the three species of sea turtles found in Hong Kong waters and so far has been the only species known to breed locally. Green Turtle can be found in warm seas all over the world and occasionally seen in the waters of Sai Kung and the southeastern region of Hong Kong.