BALIK PULAU: Pantai Teluk Bahang near here has been declared a Turtle Friendly Beach and Turtle Landing Area after the sighting of the rare Olive Ridley Turtle since last year.
The sighting in the previous year marked the first appearance of the Olive Ridley Turtle in nearly two decades at this location.
Notably, this beach stands among just 54 worldwide where the Olive Ridley Turtle returns to hatch its eggs.
The Olive Ridley Turtle is under threat of extinction.
Fisheries Department deputy director-general (Management) Wan Muhammad Aznan Abdullah said, following the return of the Olive Ridley Turtle here, various conservation efforts had been taken by the department and Aquaria KLCC to protect the area.
"We hope that Penang will serve as a landing area for the Olive Ridley Turtle.
"This (Pantai Teluk Bahang) is a vast and pristine beach. As such, we are doing all we can with Aquaria KLCC, Angsana Hotel Teluk Bahang and the local community to keep this beach as clean and pristine as possible to attract the Olive Ridley Turtle here," he said at Angsana Hotel Teluk Bahang here today.
He was met after the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the department and Aquaria KLCC, which marked an agreement in collaboration on management and preservation of extinct aquatic species such as turtles, marine mammals and coral reefs.
The MoU was signed between Wan Muhammad Aznan and Aquawalk Group managing director Datuk Simon Foong.
It was witnessed by Balik Pulau member of parliament Datuk Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik.
Elaborating, Wan Muhammad Aznan said there were several factors which encouraged the Olive Ridley Turtle to make a return here.
"One of which is the ban of trawler nets 7km from the beach. This means there are no disturbances.
"Institutions of higher learning are also playing their part in conservation. All this goes hand in hand with strict enforcement," he added.
Between 2019 and last year, Penang recorded 292 turtle landings, focusing on Pantai Keracut, Teluk Kampi and Teluk Bahang, mainly the common Green Sea Turtle.
There was only one sighting of the Olive Ridley Turtle.
More than 27,000 turtle eggs were collected but only around 17,000 were hatched.
