There has been a rise in the death of endangered turtles and dolphins at Saint Martin Island. In the last one week, more than eight carcasses of turtles and dolphins were found whereas, in the whole of last year, the number of deaths was 10.
To preserve the environment on the island there are only six beach workers and 17 workers of the Department of Environment (DoE).
Head of environment organization Youth Environment Society (YES) Ibrahim Khalil Mamun, said: “Despite the court order, people are not following directives. The government has stated that the island environment is under threat but we don’t have funds or manpower to counter the degradation.”
In 2006, the Department of Environment (DoE) constructed a Marine Park, at a cost of Tk 180 million but the place is in a state of dereliction.
Chairman of Saint Martin union parishad, Nur Ahmed, said: “Due to negligence of those responsible, there has been a rise in the death of dolphins and turtles and unless steps are taken they will soon become extinct.”
An environmental worker on the island observed: “The tourism infrastructure in the island is destructive to nature. The loud noise of generators, too much light and sound of loudspeakers deter turtles from laying eggs.”
UNO of Teknaf, Mohammad Saiful Islam, adds: “After being entangled in current nets, many turtles are dying and so there needs to be a drive to eradicate the use of current nets.”
Professor of zoology of Chattiogram University, Dr Manzurul Kibria, commented: “We cannot ascertain why the turtles are dying but this much is certain that they did not die from pollution at sea. Either they were hit by something or they were killed by fishermen when they got entangled in their nets. Another reason may be that while hatching eggs, the turtles were attacked by dogs.”