China's Sansha to build sea turtle refuge

A worker feeds a sea turtle at a protection station in Sansha, Hainan province, in July (Photo: Hainan Daily/Zheng Mao)

Sansha City plans to set up a sea turtle protection center to promote marine bio-diversity conservation in the region, authorities said Wednesday.

Sansha mayor Xiao Jie said the city intents to build a sea turtle refuge that integrates such functions as hatching, release and research.

The center is expected to attract experts, volunteers and environmental organizations to Sansha, he said.

Sansha City was officially established in 2012 to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

Over the past four years, the city's environment has seen great improvements thanks to the new garbage collection system, sewage treatment plants and afforestation efforts.

Some sea turtle protection stations have already been set up on the city's islands. This year, over 50 nests of baby turtles were hatched and released to the sea off the Qilianyu Islands. The island of Jinqing has released 80 baby turtles to the sea.

The city is also considering establishing video observation stations on some uninhabited islands and reefs.