BANGKOK POST (Thailand) 26 December 05 Turtle hatchery at risk after waves
A Chulalongkorn scientist fears that environmental changes triggered by the tsunami may spell disaster for a rare leatherback turtle egg hatchery at Phangnga province's Thai Muang Beach. Asst Prof Kumthorn Thirakhupt, a biologist at Chulalongkorn University's science faculty, said a university research team detected some abnormalities in the creature's hatching behaviour at the beach following the tsunami. The beach is in a pristine condition and is one of the few places in Thailand where leatherbacks will lay their eggs.
Mother turtles usually come ashore at Thai Muang in January or February. After they have laid their eggs in the sand it takes about one-and-a-half months for the baby turtles to hatch.
Mr Kumthorn said that a week after the tsunami, mother turtles came to Thai Muang beach to lay their eggs as usual. However, none of the 300 eggs hatched.
``This has never happened before. Despite a reduction in the number of eggs, there have still been new-born turtles every year _ until the tsunami,'' he said.
However, he said, it was too early to jump to conclusions.
``But we think the tsunami may have had an effect,'' Asst Prof Kumthorn said.
The research team also found salinity levels at the hatchery point had increased about 12-25 times.
On Dec 26 last year, seawater flowed at least one kilometre inland and many believe the incident is linked to the increased salinity in the area.
The research team planned to observe the sea turtle egg hatchery again this year and hoped for the best.
``We hope rainwater has helped dilute salinity and we hope to see baby turtles hatching this year,'' he said.
He noted, however, that changes caused by man-made activities are more worrying than the tsunami, referring particularly to the controversial huge sea wall on the beach.
The 2.5m-high wall belongs to the Thai Muang tambon administration, a local governing body, which spent 30 million baht as part of a state restoration project to build the sea wall, which is also part of its beach development plan. The work was done without conducting an environmental impact assessment.
The decision, however, has upset conservationists who say the wall will accelerate the decline of the turtle nesting ground and also change wave direction, leading to coastal erosion nearby.
However, the local body defended the project, saying it is expected to prevent future wave impacts on the beach and help improve scenery and attract more tourists.
Turtle hatchery at risk after waves