Protected Thai turtles in Sattahip

Sattahip bay: Flickr.com

Despite being hunted as food and medicine in some countries, turtles, the ancient symbols of longevity which outlived the dinosaurs, survive well in Sattahip under the care of the Royal Thai Navy.

The Royal Thai Navy has a role in the protection of turtles in response to Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s concern on the preservation of Thai turtles. A center has been established with an aim to nurture the sea turtles and return as much as possible to the sea.

The Sea Turtle Conservation Center was set up on the coast of Sattahip bay in 1992 with the help of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to promote the place as a natural tourist attraction. The area is under the responsibility of the Air and Coastal Defense Command of the Royal Thai Navy.

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Giant leatherback turtle found injured in Gulf of Thailand

A giant 50-year-old leatherback turtle was found injured in a beach of Pak Phanang district in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat (See Nakhon Si Thammarat Hotels) in the Gulf of Thailand (See Thailand Hotels) .

Navy to the rescue!

What more appropriate source of aid for the imperilled turtle than a body of seafarers?

You’re allowed to touch the larger turtles.

Apart from providing a semi-permanent berth for the world’s smallest and the Kingdom’s only aircraft carrier, the HTMS Chakri Naruebet, and operating a restaurant which serves up some surprisingly tasty seafood dishes (cooked by navy personnel, no less!), the country’s largest naval base in Sattahip, a district of Chon Buri, is also the unlikely home for a sea turtle conservation centre.

Commercial turtle fishery was outlawed in Thailand back in 1947 and since 1950 the Royal Thai Navy has been responsible for the welfare of sea turtles born along the Chon Buri coast and on islands off Sattahip. Of these, Koh Kram boasts the largest turtle hatchery in the country and is the birthplace of some 30,000 of the little critters each year.