PETALING JAYA: The fisheries department has placed tight protection on a batch of newly hatched olive ridley sea turtles found near Teluk Bahang beach in Penang yesterday.
Penang fisheries director Yazeereen A Bakar said the 110 hatchlings had been relocated to the turtle conservation centre at Pantai Keracut.
She said the hatchlings would be cared for carefully before they are released back into the sea.
Yazeereen said they were excited over the discovery of the hatchlings as the last time the olive ridley turtles returned to lay eggs at Penang beaches was in 2019.
She added that Penang is one of the states popular with sea turtles, besides Pahang and Terengganu.
“However, the landing trend for leatherback and olive ridley turtles in Malaysia and Penang has been decreasing because of natural and human threats.”