Tourism supports turtle conservation on Con Dao

Tourism supports turtle conservation on Con Dao

By Michael Smith in HCMC

One of the rangers measures a turtle after it has nested - Photo: Helen Savory

So if you are interested in seeing them nest and supporting Con Dao’s turtle conservation program at the same time, you had better start planning now. Con Dao is in the top three turtle nesting sites in South East Asia.

The female turtles swim hundreds of kilometers from their feeding grounds to return to Con Dao island group where they were born. They come up the beach at high tide at night, their breath rasping as they drag their heavy bodies across the sand.

Then they spend nearly two hours digging a nest, laying the eggs and covering them with sand. They are amazingly dexterous with their flippers. After the nest is finished they swim back out the bay and mate again with a male to fertilize more eggs. They lay several batches of eggs during their stay in Con Dao, before they make the long journey back to their sea grass feeding grounds which may be in the Phillipines, Malaysia or Indonesia. It may be 3-8 years before they return to Con Dao to nest again.

Sea turtles have been protected in Vietnam since the 80s. Con Dao National Park has a turtle conservation program and several ranger stations on some of the bigger turtle nesting beaches. If you want to see these amazing sea creatures, some of them are centenarians, then you should contact the national park or ask your hotel on the main island to organize a trip.

You can take a day trip and the rangers will give you a tour. But if you actually want to see the turtles nest, you have to arrange to stay at the ranger station over night. But there are no guarantees – some nights ten turtles might nest, some nights none.

It’s a lot easier to get to Con Dao since this year, as Vietnam Airlines runs three return flights a day from HCMC.

Con Dao recently upgraded their marine park and the trained and qualified staff are very knowledgeable about turtle conservation. They are currently working on a model for sustainable turtle tourism that is essential to fund the work they are doing to conserve this amazing animal. Good site and tourist management is essential for turtle tourism to be sustainable, so remember to do what the rangers ask you to do, so you don’t disturb the turtles.

The beach that is set up for turtle tourism is on Bay Canh Island and you can only get there by boat in good weather. It’s only a half hour trip. The boat lands on the opposite side of the island from the turtle beach, as it is essential not to disturb the turtles that are hanging around in the bay waiting for night and hightide. If they are spooked they won’t nest.

There is a walk across a sharp coral reef to get from the boat to the island so remember to wear an old pair of sandshoes. The accommodation in the rangers hut is very basic but the team is very friendly and dedicated to their conservation work and they are quite good cooks. They also operate nightly patrols to keep a look out for poachers.

The experience of seeing the turtles nest under the guidance of the rangers will be an unforgettable part of your Vietnam holiday.