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SINGAPORE : The waters around Singapore's southern Big Sister's Island are the study grounds for a project to protect endangered turtles.
Thirteen second-generation Hawksbill turtles have been released as part of the project.
The project is a collaboration by Singapore's Underwater World, Japan's Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium and an American marine agency, the National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration.
As part of Underwater World Singapore's conservation education programme, over 100 observers were present to witness the release. They include 20 students from CHIJ Kellock and representatives from groups such as Life Sciences Society of the National University of Singapore, PadiAware, Scouts and Wild Singapore.
Satellite trackers have been attached to the turtles to give researchers a better idea of how they behave.
Professor Peter Ng Kee Lin, director, Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, said: "One of the things about turtles is that we know very little about what they are doing out there in the wild...how far they go, where they are heading, do they go far from where they are released.
"I think the basic belief right now is, the more we know how they are moving out there, the more we can devise good conservation management."
Anthony Chang, curator, Underwater World Singapore, said: "We have decided that perhaps the Big Sister's island is the most ideal one, given the profile of the beach as well the lesser boat traffic around this area. Obviously, we would not want to release the turtles and have a boat hit them." - CNA/ms
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