40 young sea turtles were released into the tranquil waters of the Andaman Sea to begin their lifetime ocean odysseys at Laguna Phuket’s 25th annual sea turtle release in the late afternoon of Saturday 27th July on Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC) beachfront in Phuket, Thailand.
Led by Mr. Phakaphong Tavipatana, Phuket Governor, the beach ceremony was part of Laguna Phuket’s on-going environmental partnership with Phuket Marine Biological Centre and the 3rd Area Naval Command, Royal Thai Navy to help the plight of endangered sea turtles.
Proceeds from sea turtle release tickets and other activities including merchandise sales at the event will be put towards the Centre’s sea turtles conservation programmes. To date, 2,145 sea turtles have been released by Laguna Phuket and 7 million Baht raised since 1994.
Celebrating 25th anniversary this year, the Sea Turtle Conservation activities include the donation of sea turtles tracking devices; 2,000 Inconel Tags and 1,000 microchips, worth at Baht 260,000 to PMBC for use in the Centre’s ongoing conservation programmes.
Over the course of 25 years, more than 4,500 people have participated in the initiative. The half-day activities include a visit to sea turtles nursery ponds, one of which is now a temporary habitat for stranded baby dugong “Yamil”, rescue ponds and sea turtle conservation stations where participants, mostly families with young children, were being briefed on the importance of wildlife conservation including knowledge on sea turtles and dugongs.
“Our ultimate goal is to actively engage, educate and inspire our guests, associates, community members and the general public that we all play a vital role in sea turtles and eco-system protection,” said Mr. Anthony Loh, VP of Laguna Phuket,
“We hope that this experience will encourage the young generations to be lifelong advocates of wildlife conservation and environmental preservation.” he concluded.
Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) can live for up to 60 years and spend their lives roaming the world’s oceans. Only the females ever come ashore again to nest. For more information, visit www.lagunaphuket.com/CSR
If you came across an injured sea turtle, other sea animal, or its carcass, please call PMBC at (+66) (0) 76-391-128 for further rescue or autopsy. Learn more about PMBC at https://dmcrth.dmcr.go.th/pmbc.
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