# Sea Turtles and Marine Conservation in Malaysia

> How the Rantau Abang leatherback turtle became locally extinct, why turtle protection is fragmented across state enactments, and how the marine park system under the Fisheries Act 1985 protects island habitats such as Perhentian, Redang and Tioman.

- Category: environment
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-01
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/environment/sea-turtles-and-marine-conservation-malaysia

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In the late 1960s, around 2,000 female leatherback turtles came ashore each year on a single stretch of beach at Rantau Abang, Terengganu, leaving nearly 10,000 nests of eggs in the sand. Today, there is not a single one. That story of decline is one of the region's most conspicuous wildlife conservation failures — and it has shaped how Malaysia protects sea turtles to this day.

## How many sea turtle species does Malaysia have, and how are they doing?

Four sea turtle species nest actively in Malaysian waters: the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, the olive ridley turtle and the leatherback turtle. Their fortunes differ sharply.

The green turtle is the most abundant and the most stable. According to SWOT, around 15,000–20,000 nests are recorded each year in Sabah and 5,000–10,000 nests in Terengganu, with the population considered stable or potentially increasing. The hawksbill turtle is a mixed picture — falling to fewer than 200 nests a year in Sabah but rising to around 1,000 nests in Melaka in 2022. The olive ridley is now very rare, with fewer than 5 nests a year.

The leatherback turtle sits at the bleakest end of the spectrum: extinct.

| Species | Main nesting location | Estimated nests per year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green turtle | Sabah; Terengganu; Sarawak | 15,000–20,000 (Sabah); 5,000–10,000 (Terengganu); 3,000–5,000 (Sarawak) | Stable / potentially increasing |
| Hawksbill turtle | Sabah; Melaka | <200 (Sabah); ~1,000 (Melaka, 2022) | Declining in Sabah, increasing in Melaka |
| Olive ridley turtle | Terengganu | <5 | Very rare |
| Leatherback turtle | Rantau Abang, Terengganu (historical) | 0 | Considered extinct |

*Source: SWOT — The State of the World's Sea Turtles.*

## How could the Rantau Abang leatherback go extinct?

Its collapse happened within a single generation. According to SWOT, the Rantau Abang population fell from around 2,000 females (10,000 nests) in the late 1960s, to only 40 females a year by the late 1980s, to roughly 5 individuals by the early 2000s. By 2010, the population was considered functionally extinct.

Two pressures overlapped. The first was egg harvesting: by the late 1950s, almost all eggs were collected for sale and consumption. The hatchery program that began in the 1960s protected only about 1% of eggs — far too few to recover the population. Worse still, high incubation temperatures produced almost entirely female hatchlings, so that by the late 1980s many hatchery eggs were infertile for lack of males.

The second pressure was fisheries bycatch. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, trawls, drift nets, gill nets and bottom longlines caught at least several hundred turtles a year. By the late 1980s, at least 8 percent of the 40 females nesting each year were found dead, stranded after being entangled in fishing gear.

Protective measures — a ban on the commercial sale of eggs and 100% hatchery incubation in 1988, a ban on large-mesh gill nets in 1989, and offshore turtle sanctuaries around 1990–1991 — were eventually introduced. But they came two decades too late.

## Why is turtle protection fragmented across states?

This is the structural root of the problem. Under the Federal Constitution, turtles fall under state jurisdiction, not federal. Each state must enact its own legislation to protect turtles and their eggs — and according to the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, only six states (Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan) have dedicated turtle legislation. The result is an uneven patchwork of laws.

Terengganu was the pioneer. The Terengganu Turtle Enactment 1951 was one of the earliest legal protections. According to the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia, the 1987 amendment introduced a range of protections — including a ban on the sale of leatherback turtle eggs, along with penalties. Ironically, though, that protection arrived when the leatherback population was already nearly gone.

| Level | Legal instrument | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Federal | Fisheries Act 1985 | Protects turtles in Malaysian waters; basis for marine parks & sanctuaries |
| Federal | Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 | Protects freshwater turtles/terrapins (not sea turtles directly) |
| State (Terengganu) | Terengganu Turtle Enactment 1951 (amended 1987; 2021) | Regulates egg collection & trade; the 1987 amendment banned the sale of leatherback eggs |
| State (Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Melaka, N. Sembilan) | Respective turtle enactments | Regulate licensing, ownership & egg trade |
| State (Sabah, Sarawak) | Separate conservation measures | Protection under state wildlife frameworks (not among the six dedicated turtle enactments) |

*Source: Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia; Frontiers in Marine Science.*

## Is it still legal to sell turtle eggs?

For a long time, the answer in Terengganu was "yes" — and that was the heart of the controversy. A study in Frontiers in Marine Science estimated that 422,000 turtle eggs were sold in local markets in 2007 alone. According to a Fisheries Department officer quoted in the study, only about 10% came from licensed beaches; the rest were smuggled in from neighbouring countries. The Fisheries Department's official target is to ensure at least 80% of eggs laid are incubated each year.

The major change came with the Terengganu Turtle Enactment 1951 (2021 Amendment). According to Macaranga, the amendment banned the trade of all turtle species' eggs, effective 1 June 2022, with fines of up to RM250,000. The new model allows the state government to tender nesting beaches for egg collection, but collectors must sell the eggs to the Fisheries Department for incubation, not to the market. One important note: the enactment prohibits the trade, not the taking of eggs for personal use.

## How do marine parks protect turtle habitat?

If state enactments protect eggs on the beach, the federal marine park system protects the waters where turtles feed and swim. Marine parks in the Peninsula and Federal Territories are gazetted under the Fisheries Act 1985 (amended 1993).

According to the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, 49 islands are gazetted as marine parks. Each park covers a protection zone of two nautical miles from the island's lowest low-water mark — with the exception of Pulau Kapas in Terengganu and Pulau Kuraman, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil in Labuan, which are protected at one nautical mile. Among the main clusters:

- **Johor:** 20 islands, including Pulau Aur, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Tinggi and Pulau Pemanggil
- **Terengganu:** four island groups — Redang, Perhentian, Kapas and Tenggol
- **Pahang:** the Pulau Tioman group (Tioman and eight other islands)
- **Kedah:** the Pulau Payar group (4 islands: Payar, Lembu, Kaca, Segantang)
- **Melaka:** three islands (Undan, Dodol, Nangka)

Within these zones, activities such as eating turtle eggs, disturbing nesting turtles, collecting hatchlings, buying turtle-shell handicrafts, and dumping rubbish on the beach or in the water are prohibited. According to the Department of Fisheries Malaysia, six turtle centres and one exhibition room also operate across the Peninsula.

## What comes next

The Rantau Abang story shows that the right laws can arrive too late. For the three species that still nest, the stakes now lie in enforcement and consistency — closing the gap between the enactments "on paper" and the reality on the beach, and standardising protection across state boundaries.

To dig deeper, explore the full text of the Fisheries Act 1985 and its amendments, follow the roll-out of Terengganu's egg trade ban after 2022, and consult the latest nesting data from the Department of Fisheries and local conservation organisations. If you visit a marine park island, follow the park rules — they are the last line of defence for the habitat that remains.

## Sources

- To Ban or Not to Ban? Reviewing an Ongoing Dilemma on Sea Turtle Egg Trade in Terengganu, Malaysia — https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00762/full (Frontiers in Marine Science (2020))
- Are turtles protected by the Malaysian laws? — https://www.turtleconservationsociety.org.my/are-turtles-protected-by-the-malaysian-laws/ (Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia)
- Management of Marine Parks, Turtle Centres and Sanctuaries — https://www.dof.gov.my/en/services/marine-park-resource-management/marine-park-management/ (Jabatan Perikanan Malaysia (DOF))
- The Once-Thriving Leatherback Population at Terengganu, Malaysia — https://www.seaturtlestatus.org/articles/2024/2/14/the-once-thriving-leatherback-population-at-terengganu-malaysia (SWOT — The State of the World's Sea Turtles)
- An End To the Culture of Eating Turtle Eggs — https://www.macaranga.org/an-end-to-the-culture-of-eating-turtle-eggs/ (Macaranga)
- Sea Turtles of Southeast Asia — https://www.seaturtlestatus.org/articles/2024/2/14/sea-turtles-of-southeast-asia (SWOT — The State of the World's Sea Turtles)
- Status of Hawksbill Turtle and Green Turtle in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11371404/ (PLoS / PMC (peer-reviewed))
- Hawksbill Turtle Conservation Activities in Malaysia (range-state report) — https://iosea-turtles.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/Malaysia.pdf (IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU / CMS)
- Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 (official text) — https://sagc.sabah.gov.my/sites/default/files/law/WildlifeConservationEnactment1997.pdf (State Attorney-General's Chambers, Sabah)
- Totally Protected Animals — Turtles — https://forestry.sarawak.gov.my/web/subpage/webpage_view/859 (Forest Department Sarawak)
- Amendment to turtle enactment a victory in turtle conservation efforts — Expert — https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2027457 (BERNAMA (Malaysian National News Agency))
- Terengganu bans sale of all types of turtle eggs — https://www.bernama.com/en/news.php?id=2024657 (BERNAMA (Malaysian National News Agency))
- Terengganu bans sale of all types of turtle eggs — https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/11/18/terengganu-bans-sale-of-all-types-of-turtle-eggs/2021884 (Malay Mail)

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