KUANTAN: Last week’s viral video of a baby turtle being released into the sea and later retrieved by a hatchery worker did not happen in Pahang, the state’s Fisheries Department said.
Pahang Fisheries Department director Roslan Abu Hasan said investigations revealed that the alleged Aug 28 event did not involve any hatchery in the state, which faces the vast South China Sea.
“The incident did not happen in Pahang,” he said in a brief text message today.
Releasing baby turtles into the sea is part of conservation work, giving the fragile hatchlings a fighting chance to survive and one day return to nest.
There are only two hatcheries in Pahang — one operated by the Fisheries Department in Cherating and another privately owned facility in Pantai Chendor.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Kasih Turtle Conservation Project, formerly known as the Rimbun Dahan Turtle Hatchery in Pantai Chendor, said the incident did not take place at their premises.
“Visitors here do not release baby turtles using gloves, as shown in the video. Instead, we use coconut shells to minimise direct contact with the hatchlings.
“The baby turtle is placed in the shell and carried to the water’s edge before being set free,” he said.
Earlier, a woman posted on TikTok claiming she felt “scammed” after paying RM45 to release baby turtles into the ocean, only for the animal to be retrieved by a hatchery staff member immediately after entering the sea.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
