KOROR (Palau Horizon) — The 9th Women’s Belau Conference has introduced a resolution urging President Tommy Remengesau to impose a 20-year moratorium on the harvest of marine turtles.
Del. Joel Toribiong filed House Joint Resolution 6-40 as requested by the women’s organization. The conference participants say marine turtles are an important food source for the people of Palau.
However, they said the continuous harvest of marine turtles could lead to the extinction of the species.
They noted that marine turtles represent an important component of many marine ecosystems including coral reefs, seagrass beds and open ocean.
Since marine turtles have a low survival rate, there is a need to preserve the marine turtle population, the conference participants said.
Twenty years will give the marine turtle population time to recover, they said.
