The Case of the Missing Turtles

Turtle meat is dangerous, potentially deadly. It's generally accepted to be poisonous.

That hasn't stopped local people in Malaysia from stealing the turtle eggs and either taking them home to make turtle soup, or selling them in the local "pasar malam" (night market) for the equivalent of around US$0.75 cents each.

On the east coast of Malaysia, in the states of Terengganu and Kelentan, there used be hundreds of turtles coming ashore during a 3 month nesting period around June.
Now, they are all gone. Not ONE has been seen for several years.
We can't blame the local folk. Nobody told them that turtle eggs were poisonous or that they were destroying a potentially lucrative tourist industry that would help them as well as the turtles.

However, from that sad lesson in life, we would be happy that at least the politicians from the west coast state of Negeri Sembilan would stop it from happening again.

In fact, in 2008, one of the local councillors in Port Dickson, recommended to the state government that a marine sanctuary be created in at least one location, to protect the nesting turtles.

Now, these are no ordinary turtles. Not Green turtles, Leatherbacks or other more common species; these are Hawksbills.
One of the most endangered of all turtle species.

Here is the outcome as at 2 November 2009, some 18 months after the local councillor's plea and 9 months after our personal meetings with the state governor, the tourism development committee and dozens of other politicians and public servants.

NOTHING.
The last report was that "some hawksbill turtle eggs were discovered on the beach near Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson".
Aha. Do they think we are stupid?
You do not find turtle eggs - you have to dig them up from 2 or 3 feet under the high water mark.
How do you know they are Hawksbills? Unless you are an expert, the only way to tell is to break them open.

So the result of that public investigation was probably another few hundred bowls of turtle soup, and another $10 million or more in lost tourism income.

Just before I finish I have to tell you that our presentation to the government included our written submission of a budget to create a marine sanctuary in one of two proposed areas. The sanctuary included CCTV, infra-red lighting for night-watching, a raised walkway, fenced off area with top fencing to prevent birds from capturing the babies as they raced for the beach, and all other equipment and labour costs in creating a turtle sanctuary of world standard - RM175,000 (US$48.000)

Mmmmmmmm.

There is one thing for certain, you will never find a recipe for turtle soup in a Campbell's recipe book.
Campbells probably make the best tomato soup but they certainly don't make turtle soup. That seems to be a specialty of the Malaysians.

Search as much as you like, the closest thing you might find to turtle soup in Amazon.com, is a book on turtles or maybe a nice recipe book on soups.