INVESTIGATIONS into the discovery of eight dead green turtles on the shores of Sabah’s Bum-Bum Island recently led the Wildlife Department to a more troubling discovery today.

Wildlife Department officers combing the island’s shores to find the location where viral photos of the carcasess were said to be taken yesterday found the skeletal remains of around 100 more turtles in nearby villages.

“An investigation was conducted this morning on the report in Bum-Bum Island in Semporna with the assistance from Semporna marine police, police, Sabah Park, WWF and Omadal Island Women Association.

“An estimated 100 turtle skeletons were found scattered in the bushes nearby the beaches of Kampung Pantau-Pantai, Kampung Amboh-Amboh and Kampung Sampolan were found,” Sabah Wildlife Department Director Augustine Tuuga said in a statement today.

While the eight turtle carcasses have been washed away by the sea, Tuuga said a probe into the locals living on the coastal villages found turtle poaching had been going on for some time.

“Information gathered so far, the poachers are the sea nomads Bajau Laut or the Palauh who come to the area occasionally. They do not live in the area but always on the move around by boat,” said Tuuga, adding that several suspects believed behind the killing of the turtles had been identified.

Yesterday, photos of eight green turtle carcasses with exposed stomachs shared by the Facebook page Semporna went viral and angered Sabahans.

In 2014, around 60 turtle carcassses were found floating in the waters off Pulau Tiga and in 2015, 19 more green turtles were found on the island all caged up, believed to have been the work of smugglers trying to sell the reptiles.

Green turtles are a protected species and are listed in Division 1, Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Preservation Enactment 1997.

Section 41(1) of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 provides for a fine of up to RM50,000, a jail term of up to five years, or both upon conviction. – September 28, 2017.