Hundreds of thousands of tourist flock to Xiaoliuqiu, Taiwan every year. Many come here to freedive, scuba, SUP, snorkel or just to simply relax on a small island. The one thing that most of them have on the top of their lists to do or see, the famous sea turtles of Xiaoliuqiu.
UPDATE
- In June 2021 there was an
oil leak which made it to the area of the iconic Vase Rock beach which is home to a lot of the island's sea turtles. A recent aerial survey showed that the sea turtles naturally avoided the oil spill and counted a
whopping 805 turtles that populate the island, significantly more than the 200+ as previously thought.
Sea Turtle Species
Did you know that sea turtles are the largest reptiles of the sea? Like humans, they also need to breathe with their lungs and if they cannot make it to the surface in time they could suffocate and drown.
There are seven species of sea turtles in the world of which five on them can be found in Taiwan:
Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List it gets its name from the green-colored fat beneath its shell and is found in all temperature and tropical waters around the world.
Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)
This species, listed as vulnerable, gets its name because of its large head and it likes to feed in bays and shallow water in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
This species, listed as vulnerable, gets its name for the olive green color of its shell and can be found in waters in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian ocean.
Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
One of the smaller species of sea turtles and listed as critically endangered, it gets its name from the narrow head with hawk-like beak. Its found in the tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean.
Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Primarily found in the open ocean, this species listed as vulnerable, has a unique shell which is composed of a thin rubbery skin which makes it look leathery.
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)
Named after Richard Kemp who helped discover the species and only found in East Cost of the US, Gulf of Mexico and Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Listed as critically endangered.
Flatback Sea Turtle (Natator depressus)
Like most the sea turtles on this list, this species get its name becuase of one of its physical traits, this one having an incredibly flat back. Found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Xiaoliuqiu - Green Turtle Paradise
Because of the abundance of sea turtles on the island, among its numerous other names (Lambai Island, Lamay, Little Ryukyu, Liuqiu Island to name a few) Xiaoliuqiu is also nicknamed "Green Turtle Paradise".
Xiaoliuqiu is a coral island which sets itself apart from other outlying islands Green Island, Orchia Island and Penghu as being formed from volcanic eruptions. It is quite small at only 6.8 square kilometers. For more information on Xiaoliuqiu read my other blog post
Complete Tourist Guide to Xiaoliuqiu (Lambai Island) - 2021.
There are hundreds of green sea turtles that inhabit Xiaoliuqiu and a few hawksbill sea turtles. Xiaoliuqiu has more sea turtles than any other of the outlying islands of Taiwan. The turtles are very friendly and are not afraid of humans at all.
One of the reasons why I love
teaching freediving on Xiaoliuqiu is almost every single time I go in the ocean, whether that is to freedive or swim, I will see a sea turtle. This is also great from a freedive students as almost all of them will leave their freedive course on Xiaoliqiu with a photo of them swimming near a sea turtle so they can cherish their memories and post on social media.
And don't worry, you don't need to be a freediver to see the turtles. You can swim very near shore and be able to see some. You can even see them from the surface of the beach or while kayaking or stand up paddle boarding.
If you don't know how to swim, there are two options for seeing them underwater. 1) Take a boat tour with a glass-bottom boat or with windows beneath the surface 2) Go on a snorkeling tour. Ability to swim is not necessary for a snorkeling tour as everyone wears a life vest and the guide will pull you around as you hand onto a surface float. Minimum age is 3 years old.
Touching or feeding a turtle is illegal and fines for doing so can be very heavy. Authorities are vigilant about this as two people have been caught just a few hours of posting a video on social media of them touching a turtle. For the sake of the turtles, please follow the guidelines in the photo below.
Why are there so many turtles in Xiaoliuqiu?
The island is a very suitable places for the sea turtles to inhabit. This is because coral reefs are not far from shore where the turtles can rest and have plenty of food like seaweed. A long time ago the locals use to dig up the eggs for protein, but thanks to better transportation, there is enough food for the humans on the island and no longer need to rely on eating turtle eggs.
In 2013, The Liuqiu Fishermen’s Association in Pingtung County
banned the use of gill nets for fishing within 3 nautical miles of Xiaoliuqiu. This removed one of the sea turtles biggest threats, resulting in increasing numbers of sea turtles since. Volunteers also regularly go out and clear rubbish and clear fishing nets and have contributed to the rise in numbers.
Male or Female?
It'll take 20 years before a sea turtle is sexually mature and its not easy to determine the sex of the turtle until then. When they are mature, they can be distinguished by their tail length. Males have longer tails, 25cm or longer and the females much shorter. You can tell if they are sexually mature by the length of the curve of their shell, over 85cm.
Like salmon, females return to their birthplace to lay their eggs. When the females are in heat, they start to make their way back to their birthplace, and the males as well. Using tracking devices, researches have found the turtles of Xiaoliuqiu migration range is as far as Pratas Island, Japan or the Philippines. And they don't even need a passport or go through a two week quarantine. Lucky!
Sea Turtles Laying Eggs
Almost all beaches in Xiaoliuqiu have sea turtle laying eggs. The spawning season is from May to September but also the time when there are the most tourists in Xiaoliuqiu.
The mother turtle may go ashore four or five times. She digs holes on the shore from night till daybreak, and she lays eggs only when she feels right, often without success.
Unfortunately, the development and construction of this small island has made the beaches smaller and smaller and fewer female turtles make it ashore each year to lay their eggs in Xiaoliuqiu.
Sea turtle eggs take 50 days to hatch. The gender of the baby sea turtles is determined by the temperature of the beach they are incubated and hatched in, with a low temperature facilitating more males eggs than females and higher temperatures (29 C or above) creating mostly female babies. I can't imagine what this world would be like if that were also true for humans.
Female tortoises lays eggs once every four years. Although each female tortoise lays hundreds of eggs, there are many natural enemies of eggs and small turtles.
Lottery Survival
Baby turtle survival rate is one one out of a thousand with main threats to them are man-made destruction and the babies eaten by birds, crabs and fish even though they have evolved to be able to retract their limbs into their shells for protection.
Due to its many predators, coupled with the late maturity of sea turtles, and excessive human catching, the number of sea turtles is rapidly declining, and it is a species in urgent need of conservation.
If you have any questions about Xiaoliuqiu, the Facebook group Xiaoliuqiu for Foreigners is a great forum to ask. Inspired to learn freediving so you can see turtles? Start by checking out my free resources for beginner freedivers, including a podcast, online course, and ebook.
CONTACT -
Address: 20-12 Xingzheng Road, Pintgung County 929
Phone: 0981163838
E-mail: ray@freedivenomad.com
ACTIVITIES RECOMMENDED
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Contact Us
Recent Posts
CLICK ICON BELOW TO SHARE POST
You may also like...
