Thailand sea turtle conservation

This is a sea turtle video.

From CBS:

Thai navy releases 1,000 sea turtles

1:16 PM, Aug 2, 2012

Written by Lindsey Tugman

SATTAHIP, Thailand — Nearly 1000 sea turtles were released into the Gulf of Thailand on Wednesday, part of the Thai Navy’s campaign to protect them from extinction.

Nine hundred and eighty green and hawksbill sea turtles, between the ages of three months and 15 year-old, were released into the sea from Sattahip, about 124 miles from Bangkok.

Commander Kitti Wongrak, from the Sea Turtle Conservation Centre, said humans were causing the depletion in the turtle population.

“The number of sea turtles in Thailand and around the world is continually decreasing. Female turtles will lay eggs on the beach where there are no human residents, but development projects tourism expansion are threatening the species,” he said.

The Thai navy had collected and looked after the turtle eggs laid in a conservation area, nurturing the baby turtles before releasing them back into nature.

Many students took part in the release of the turtles, saying they had high hopes for their survival.

“Today I want all turtles to be in the sea so they can build up their own homes and have lots of children, so we can always have them with us,” said Preawa Matchima, a 10-year-old student.

The Thai Navy Sea Turtle Conservation Centre launched the campaign in 1992, releasing about 10,000 to 12,000 turtles over the course of each year.

The Thai Navy added that some turtles were implanted with microchips to track them.

Five species of sea turtles have been found along the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman sea coast, including olive ridley turtle, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead turtle and leatherback turtle.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the hawksbill as critically endangered, and the green turtle as endangered.

If only all navies all over the world would only do things like this, instead of, eg, killing Indian fishermen near the United Arab Emirates …