A Vietnamese fisherman refused a VND10 million (US$446) offer for an endangered green sea turtle so it could be released into the wild.
Nguyen Van Truong, a fisherman in Ha Tinh Province said he refused the deal because “turtles are endangered animals so I want to release it back into the sea and play a part in the conservation of the species,” according to VnExpress.
Local authorities helped him release the animal back into the ocean. This is not the first time a citizen chose to free one of the rare reptiles instead of profiting on the demand for its meat, despite the value they can fetch compared to the country’s low average personal income (US$2,385). In 2017, a Hue fishermen released one of the creatures after finding it in a warehouse. The department of fisheries claims to have reintroduced 17 turtles to their natural habitat in the last four years.
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is listed as an endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. Vietnam is home to four of the world’s most endangered tortoise and freshwater turtle species including the infamous Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle (also known as the Hoan Kiem Turtle). Those creatures, as well as the green, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback and olive ridley sea turtles are all listed in the country’s Red Book for rare and protected wildlife. Hunting and trading them is illegal, though enforcement is often lacking.
Back in January, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced its plan to embark on a program aimed at conserving marine turtles in Quang Ngai’s Ly Son Island in 2018. The program will begin with a communication campaign discouraging the use of plastic among inhabitants of the island as well as tourists.
[Photo via VnExpress]
