Turtle landing sites unaffected by sand dredging: Wan Junaidi

PUTRAJAYA: The sand dredging work at the estuary of a river in Seri Manjung, Perak does not affect turtle landing sites at the beach, says Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
He said only a fraction of the 6 km coastal area was involved in the sand dredging project at Sungai Puyu in Pasir Panjang to deepen the estuary to prevent floods in the Segari area, due to overflowing river water trapped in the vicinity.
"The sand is not for the sea reclamation in Teluk Muroh, Lumut," he said in a statement, here today.
He was commenting on media reports on sand dredging at the Sungai Puyu estuary by the Perak Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), which allegedly affected the turtle landing sites.
In addition, Wan Junaidi said the sand dredging work is also being carried out between December 2017 and March 2018 as there were less turtle landings.
Wan Junaidi said the ministry was deeply concerned over the conservation of the country's valuable biological diversity and acknowledged that Pasir Panjang was one of the most important turtle landing sites in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, besides Penang and Malacca.
"The turtle hatchery centre at the beach shows the government's seriousness in the conservation of the endangered species," he said.
He said, before the dredging work began, meetings were held on Dec 4, last year and Jan 5 between the DID and the Department of Fisheries, Fisheries Development Authority, marine police, Customs Department, Marine Department, Department of Environment and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. — Bernama