Bangladesh’s coral-rich island becomes deadly trap for mother tortoises

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Mother tortoises on Bangladesh’s coral-rich Saint Martin's Island have become caught up in a deadly trap as thousands of stray dogs and fishing nets claim their lives and eggs amid an apparent silence from the relevant authorities.

Sea turtles lay their eggs at four points in the Bay of Bengal, including Saint Martin's Island. However, the island’s environment has become a deadly trap for the endangered marine creature, said experts.

At least 2,000 mother tortoises have died while laying eggs on the 7.3-kilometer (4.5-mile) long island, according to the Cox's Bazar Forest and Environment Conservation Council.

The president of the council, Deepak Sharma Dipu, told Anadolu Agency that turtles mainly come to the beach to lay eggs between November and April and this is halved during the rainy season. He said they recorded as many as 12 deaths during the last breeding period on the island.

Olive Ridley and green turtles are the most common marine turtles in Bangladesh, weighing 50-60 kilograms and able to lay 60-200 eggs. They normally live for up to 50 years.

- Control stray dogs, ensure friendly shore

Mujibur Rahman, the chairman of Saint Martin's Union Parishad (local government), told Anadolu Agency that around 10,026 people lived on the island as of the latest census in December 2021, while over 7,000 stray dogs roam the island’s shore, endangering the whole island’s environment.

“Turtles at the island shore have become vulnerable mainly because of the increasing population of stray dogs and the uncontrolled rush of tourists against the acceptable capacity of the small island. Huge crowds cause turtles to avoid the shore in the breeding season.”

During the peak tourist season, around 8,000 visitors come to Saint Martin's Island every day in 10 cruise ships, which is much higher than its capacity.

“Once the turtles get a chance to lay eggs at the shore, fighting all the odds, the stray dogs find the eggs with their strong sense of smell, dig them out and eat them,” said a resident of the island.

He lamented as some animal rights activists had a stray dog relocation process suspended, citing “animal rights to stay.”

The Bangladesh Environment Movement’s Cox’s Bazar Branch President Fazlul Quader Chowdhury called for immediate action to relocate stray dogs to Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar or any other suitable area, adding the process of relocating dogs remains suspended due to the opposition of some animal rights groups.

“They don’t allow the local environment officials to incorporate the decision of relocating the stray dogs, citing legal obligations on animals. But we have to realize the urgency of saving an endangered animal and stray dogs are not part of the island's ecology,” he said.

Dipu said these organizations are not local to Cox's Bazar but rather Dhaka-based.

- Build awareness among tourists, fishermen on turtle protection, say experts

Meanwhile, turtles in the deep sea are regularly being struck by big fishing trawlers and injured while getting caught in fishing nets.

Chowdhury said “many fishermen believe they would be unlucky or ill-fated if turtles were caught in nets during fishing. And if a turtle is caught in their fishing net, they often kill it or the turtle gets physically hurt during deep-sea fishing.”

Sea waves take injured turtles to the shore. But the ill fate often does not leave turtles to live as the stray dogs at the beach attack and kill them, he added, calling for awareness building as “tourists often give food to stray dogs, which allows more dogs to gather on the beach apart from polluting the beach.”

Echoing the same on the protection of tortoises, Rahman said they sat down with the local administration and environment department of the government on the protection of turtles and relocating stray dogs.

“A decision was made to relocate the stray dogs. But it remains suspended due to opposition from some animal rights activists.”

- Authorities say they are working on safe beach

Sheikh Md Nazmul Huda, Cox’s Bazar deputy director of the environment department, told Anadolu Agency that the district administration is working on the relocation of stray dogs, as it is a legal issue.

He also admitted that some organizations and rights activists are opposing the decision of relocating stray dogs.

Citing experts from the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute, he said each animal is part of a separate and certain ecosystem.

"Therefore, when an animal intrudes into a foreign ecology, it hampers the whole ecosystem and creates problems like what we see on the island."

"Dogs are not part of Saint Martin’s Island or the Bay of Bengal. The animal somehow reaches the island, which appears to be a problem for other animals in the ecosystem. We, however, have taken a number of initiatives to protect the island and its biodiversity, including building awareness among fishermen," he added.