In 2018-2019, Jumawan traveled in search of turtle eggs from Sodong Beach eastward to reach Jetis Beach, 25 kilometers away, and managed to collect 50 eggs
By
Wilibrordus Megandika Wicaksono
·6 minutes read
ARSIP PRIBADI
Jumawan .
His love and care for the natural environment has motivated Jumawan, 28, to conserve lekang, or olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), near where he lives on Sodong Beach in Cilacap, Central Java. He is willing to spare his time, energy and income to take care of, raise and then release young turtles to the sea.
“The presence of turtles that come ashore and lay eggs on the beach indicates that the natural condition around the beach is still pristine or clean. On Sodong Beach, turtles keep coming ashore to lay eggs so they should be conserved,” said Jumawan, the chairman of the Cilacap Nagaraja Turtle Conservation Group, when contacted by Kompas on Tuesday (13/7/2021).
Jumawan’s perseverance in conserving turtles began in 2018, when he watched a video in which a turtle comes ashore to lay eggs and is observed by visitors to the beach. However, as the turtle returns to the sea, the residents gather its eggs to sell for human consumption. “If this practice continues, turtles will go extinct,” said Jumawan, who heads the general affairs and planning division of the Karangbenda village administration.
As a child, Jumawan was aware that local people and fishermen habitually collected turtle eggs to sell. “People called turtle eggs ndog pasiran or sand eggs. For them, especially fishermen, finding sand eggs meant good fortune, which was even more so if they got no catch the whole day,” he related.
Turtle eggs are thought to boost stamina and sometimes serve as a tonic for horses.
The turtle eggs, said Jumawan, used to be sold at the price of Rp 3,000-Rp 5,000 per egg. They could be sold directly by peddlers or offered online through Facebook, for instance. Turtle eggs are thought to boost stamina and sometimes serve as a tonic for horses.
But according to Jumawan, when turtle eggs are fried, they will be hard to get done and their texture will turn rubbery, even holding lots of bacteria. “People were at the time generally ignorant about the status of turtles as protected animals so that they should be given an explanation or understanding,” said the husband of Yunarti.
In order to save the turtle eggs stolen by egg hunters, Jumawan approached them personally, even spending his money to purchase the eggs for Rp 1,000 each.
In 2018-2019, Jumawan traveled in search of turtle eggs from Sodong Beach eastward to reach Jetis Beach, 25 kilometers away, and managed to collect 50 eggs. With information gleaned from the internet about the method for incubating and hatching turtle eggs, Jumawan tried to bury the eggs in bucket of sand and placed it in the sun in front of his house. “Out of the 50 eggs, thank God, 33 hatched. Some died while weaning and in the end, 30 were released in 2019,” he said.
Jumawan reported his plan to release juvenile turtles into the sea to the Central Java Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA), which then invited state oil and gas holding company PT Pertamina to participate in the conservation effort. As the program’s launch ceremony received wide coverage in the mass media, local residents better understood that rescuing the sea turtles raised the popularity of and would increase the number of tourists.
In this way, noted Jumawan, people and fishermen started reporting their discoveries of turtle eggs and delivering them to the conservation group, which has a team of 15 members for hatching the eggs.
“Every time the turtles are released, the fishermen and residents who handed over the eggs are asked to join. This will develop their pride and sense of ownership [for the program],” he said.
KOMPAS/MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
Jumawan together with the Central Java Natural Resources Conservation Center released turtle hatchlings at Sodong Beach, Cilacap, Central Java, Friday (20/9/2019).
Jumawan also encourages the group’s members, comprising local youths and fishermen, to patrol the beaches at night from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., particularly during the turtles’ laying season in May-August. Turtle eggs, aside from poachers, are also preyed upon by predators like snakes and lizards.
In addition to saving turtles, the youths are also asked to join positive activities. “Those who used to hang out and [drink alcohol] now gather together in turtle conservation areas and taking part in beach patrols,” he added.
Breeding facility
His efforts have been fruitful. In 2020, 142 juvenile turtles were released and the Cilacap Nagaraja Turtle Conservation Group received support through the corporate social responsibility (CSR) program of PT Pertamina Marketing Operation Region IV, in the form of a turtle captive breeding structure measuring 2,440 square meters. This year, the breeding facility is rearing 31 turtles aged 11 months and three others for a youth education program, which will be released as well.
“We are also guarding four [turtle egg] nests, which are expected to hatch young turtles in early August,” he said.
Jumawan added that the breeding facility was equipped with nine basins, consisting of six basins for rearing turtles and three tubs for quarantining female turtles accidentally caught by fishermen, sick turtles or beached turtles.
“The breeding facility is open on Saturday and Sunday and is free of charge. But there’s a donation box to [help support] the operational costs of conserving turtles,” he said.
The facility’s costs include automotive fuel for transporting 200 liters of seawater each week, 1 to 2 kg of fish at Rp 25,000-Rp 30,000 per kg to feed the turtles every day, and funding for distributing staple food to the people who deliver turtle eggs to the center.
Although the visitor donations are not always sufficient to cover the monthly costs of operation, Jumawan is ready to contribute his own funds to help rear the turtles.
“The important thing is the good intentions to conserve nature and fulfilling household needs. As long as we are still healthy, our lives should benefit nature and fellow humans,” he stressed.
KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
A baby turtle is ready to be released to the beach.
Amid the group’s efforts to conserve sea turtles, it received reports in 2020 that 13 dead turtles had been found along the shores of Cilacap. Jumawan and his group appealed to the local youth associations and others who had found the turtle carcasses to report immediately to the BKSDA and bury them, so that their shells would not be sold in the illicit wildlife trade.
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