Turtles galore

Turtle nesting at TRACC is commonplace,  with a nest almost every week through the year, there is a great spectacle of National Geographic proportions happening all the time. This year 2016, we have had nesting turtles since January and yesterday (22-09-2016) in a stroke of good fortune, we had two females emerge to nest within a few metres and a few minutes of each other.

Moving 100+kg across the sand on your belly is hard work.

  Standing within metres of a nesting female as she scrabbles through the bushes puts wild life and wild places into perspective.  For me, its amazing that all TRACC staff and volunteers can get up close to real endangered species that have been on the planet for millions of years.  These are real experiences of life on the planet - upclose and personal, rather than images carried by the internet to millions of people.


A short distance down the beach from the TRACC camp and it is easy to imagine that Sir David Attenborough is also on the beach - talking to the cameras that will carry the images of prehistoric reptiles across the world.

Chambering involves digging with the back flippers.

Volunteers and students who are seeing these amazing creatures for the first few times are always suitably impressed but the excitement for the staff varies in intensity depending on how much sand the turtle throws.  It is always a balance, shower at the end of a diving  day, or wait to shower after being covered in sand and turtle mucus.  There is still a great sense of achievement as the new turtle nest is dug in the hatchery where the eggs will be safe until the hatchlings are released to run down the sand to the sea.

Collecting the eggs into the bucket

We are so lucky to have these opportunities,  a few years ago getting to Pom Pom Island and turtle nesting beaches was a logistical nightmare.  Now transport and access is easy, our role is to balance the needs of the turtles so that tourism and development actually benefits these wonderful reptiles.

A job well done, eggs safely into the hatchery. 

 More

Turtle Hatching on Pom Pom | TRACC Borneo Volunteers

 

 

Turtle Nesting on Pom Pom Island | TRACC Borneo Volunteers

 

A typical day as a turtle volunteer | TRACC Borneo Volunteers

 

 

 

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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity please check out our website tracc.org or e-mail iinfo@tracc-borneo.org

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Turtle, shark or Reef conservation would not be possible without the generous financial support. We thank GEF/SPG for Malaysia who are helping our community activities, and coralreefcare.com who generously provide materials to build more reefs.   

If visits to Tracc are not possible then please help with financial support and follow our projects on facebook

Volunteering AND Making A Difference

Counting Corals underwater

At Pom Pom island, overfishing and fish bombing activities have caused unstable slopes and damaged reefs. If you ever have the chance to snorkel around Pom Pom, you’ll realize how there are many fragments of corals on the bottom. These corals will eventually die if they can’t find a spot to hold on to and grow. Here is where TRACC makes a difference. TRACC strives to produce around 1000 -2000 coral biscuits (from scratch) every year – some of which have now grown into big corals and help fishes!

When I first heard the term “coral biscuits”, I thought it was a food? (Maybe I was hungry when I had that thought). But when I took my first dive and saw a couple of them on the sea bed, I was amazed. There were massive amounts of coral biscuits around TRACC’s nursery points. Before you go finding for them at Pom Pom, beware that they are actually very fragile. A slight impact could break them! Imagine how I felt when illegal fisherman bombed a huge site filled with coral biscuits?!

Coral biscuits are made by putting small amounts of cement in a plastic pot and adding coral fragments onto it. I’d like to imagine it being a playground for fishes (no see saws though)

I’ve been long enough at TRACC to call it my second home. It has all kinds of fishes, artificial corals, and cool people. I’m reflecting back on my experience at TRACC and it has been nothing but great! It’s one of those rare places where people truly feel welcomed even though that’s your first time stepping into TRACC. I’ve been inspired in some sense to further TRACC’s mission to preserve the ocean and coral reefs. Maybe I’ll get to have my own center one day?

If you’re interested in coral reef conservation, TRACC would be a good place to do this. Not only do you get hands on experience on it but also get to be a part of a community where you learn about conservation. I’m not just saying that I really mean it!

To volunteer and help with coral reef restoration

For more information, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org

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