Floating hospital saves sea turtles
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E-mail Xinhua, September 4, 2013
In China, sea turtles are under state protection, yet threats remain.
"I used to see sea turtles laying eggs on the beach when I was young. But I haven't seen that for about ten years," said Zhang Qingjian, a local fisherman.
Yeh said the habitat for sea turtles around Hainan is "not very good" .
"There are a lot of fishing nets. A lot of people are not aware of sea turtle issues here, not only the fishing nets, but the pollution in the water," he said, adding the pollution can make the turtles sick.
Local people in Hainan have a long standing practice of hunting sea turtles for their meat, as well as gathering sea turtle eggs from beaches to be sold as delicacies. Such ingrained traditions are not easy to reverse.
Fu Lili, a local and volunteer with Sea Turtle 911, said her family are fishermen, and it is hard for her to face the fact that they eat sea turtles.
"Even though I am in turtle protection volunteer now, I've found that it is not easy to change their eating habits," Fu said." It takes time to raise their awareness of turtle protection."
However, experts say people who eat sea turtles have incorrect beliefs regarding its nutritional value. In fact, the animal can actually be dangerous to eat, as harmful substances can accumulate in its body over time.
Yeh also said sea turtles are not a healthy food source."There have been scientific reports about the high level of mercury in turtle meat, and it can accumulate a lot of pollutants," he said.
For Yeh, the best way to protect sea turtles lies in raising awareness. He and the volunteers are offering training courses across Hainan, calling for children and their families to join his protection efforts.
He hopes that one day there will be a celebrity who will speak for sea turtles and raise awareness about protecting them.
For the future, Yeh hopes there will come a day when sea turtles are no longer traded on the market.
"My plan is to stay in China and not go back to the Unites States until I see the end of the sea turtle market," he said. "I know that it will end at some point; hopefully, it will be the case that people will stop buying and there will be no market."
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