Source : Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 04 Feb '05
By : SMH
   

Brigadier General Maung Maung Thein said yesterday that shark conservation areas had already been designated and projects were under way to hatch turtle eggs and release the youngsters into the sea, according to the Flower News journal.

Sharks have been decimated in South-East Asian waters, with fishermen hunting them down for a regional delicacy, shark fin's soup. Turtles and tortoises are also popular with diners.

Burmese authorities occasionally raid restaurants that serve exotic dishes made from armadillos, turtles, tortoises, lizards, snakes and other wildlife and take action against owners.

The journal said that more than 170,000 turtles were released into the sea from hatcheries between 2001 and 2004. Burma harbours 32 species of turtles and tortoises, of which five species are regarded as endangered, it said.

Quoting a fisheries department official, the semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper reported recently that the turtle population in Burma declined by about 80 per cent from 2000 to 2004 due to human activity.

Fisheries officer Maung Maung Lwin said his department had conducted education programs for fishermen and villagers living in Burma's Ayeyarwaddy delta and other areas of the coast. They are urged not to collect turtle eggs and release turtles accidentally caught in fishing nets.