modern technology spread and — the principal cause 

 — human population explosively increased. 



Turtle eggs of all types (including those of the 

 three non-commercial types protected by law) are 

 collected throughout Indonesia for local and 

 distant markets. And it is not only in the areas 

 of intensive harvest (that is on the main green 

 turtle nesting beaches that are all rented out to 

 concessionaires) , but also on the remotest islands 

 of the archipelago (which consists of 13,560 

 islands!) that virtually every green turtle, 

 hawksbill and leatherback egg is taken. The egg 

 collectors don't miss an egg. This constitutes an 

 annual harvest which I very roughly estimated 

 between 6 and 8 million eggs/year (80% green 

 turtle?) . 



You will look in vain for the bucolic scene of 

 happy islanders collecting eggs and meat only for 

 their own daily consumption. What they do not 

 need for themselves is to be commercially 

 exploited for nearby and distant markets. 



There is a prolific domestic and also an export 

 trade in turtle products. Green turtles are 

 collected all over Indonesia to supply some 10- 

 15,000 turtles annually to Bali alone, which makes 

 Bali the center of the world's largest trade in 

 live green turtles and the island of ill-fame in 

 conservationist's circles. The most dramatic 

 example of the consequence of over-exploitation is 

 the extinction of the green turtle population that 

 formerly nested on Bali Island and the depletion, 

 and near-extinction, of nearby turtle stocks. 

 This results in turtle fishing shifting from one 

 area to another as each stock in turn is depleted. 

 The turtle boats now travel to the farthest 

 corners of Indonesia. 



In many areas, local governments regulate fishing. 

 However, Buginese/Macassar turtle hunters that 

 provide the bulk for the Bali slaughter houses 

 make their own laws. Their activities are not 

 restricted to turtle fishing, but include 

 destructive activities like the killing of nesting 

 turtles plus dynamiting for fish on coral reefs. 

 This applies particularly to the waters in East 

 Java. Consumption of green turtle is not 

 restricted to Bali. The assumption seems 

 warranted that in Indonesian waters annually over 



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