The conference, taking place at the Centre for Environmental Education, Management Board of Con Dao National Park in the southern province of Ba Ria- Vung Tau, is an opportunity for experts in the field to evaluate results of the implementation of the National Action Plan for the conservation of sea turtles in the 2016-2025 period.

A number of solutions and effective models for sea turtles and marine mammals conservation are also introduced at the event, along with orientations and measures to improve the work in the coming time.

Le Tran Nguyen Hung from the Department of Fisheries Surveillance, said that over the past time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has issued the National Action Plan on conservation of sea turtles in the 2016-2025 period with a target of at least 5% of gillnet fishing boats and 10% of trawlers using turtle escape devices (TED) and 100% of sea turtle habitats protected. 

Le Hong Son from the Con Dao National Park Management Board reported that in the period of 2020-2022, the park recorded 2,347 mother turtles returning to the local sea area to lay eggs, an average of about 700 mother turtles a year, an increase of 42.24% compared to the period of 2017-2019. The year 2022 recorded the highest number of mother turtles (909). 

The total number of successfully rescued turtle nests in the 2020-2022 period was 7,075, up 42.76% compared to the period of 2017-2019. Bay Canh beach was home to the largest number of nests with 4,851 nests, followed by Hon Cau islet (747), Tre Lon islet (732). In the first six months of 2023, 1,028 nests were found and artificially incubated. 

A total 671,601 eggs were found in the reviewed period, with 503,069 baby turtles successfully hatching and being released to the sea, up 53.04%  from the figure in the 2017-2019 period.

Delegates at the workshop said that conservation work is facing a shortage of funding. The national conservation plan has not covered the prevention of illegal trading of sea turtles, thus many law enforcement forces such as environmental police, customs, market control, military and fisheries surveillance forces have not been assigned clear roles. 

In particular, worsening pollution of the marine environment has put serious impacts on the marine ecology, especially sea turtles and other rare and precious marine species.

The delegates proposed that relevant agencies clearly define the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement forces in handling violations of sea turtle conservation; organise communication activities on sea turtle conservation through the sea turtle conservation communication project, and set up mini rescue stations in sites with sea turtle habitats. In the long term, marine protection areas should be established to protect the habitats and nesting beaches of sea turtles.

On the occasion, participants at the workshop had a field trip to survey the conservation of forest ecosystems and visited the conservation of sea turtles at Hon Bay Canh - Con Dao National Park./. VNA