Bali and Gili Turtles: From the Meat Trade to Nests Left in the Sand

Bali has a strange place in the story of sea turtles. For years it was a hub of the turtle meat trade. Today, on Bali and on the Gili Islands nearby, people protect nests and, at their best, let the hatchlings walk to the sea by themselves. Both stories are true, and both are still being written.

So, are sea turtles protected in Bali? Yes. Indonesian law protects them, and catching or trading them is prohibited. The more interesting question is what a good turtle visit looks like, because some well-meant hatchery events do more for the visitors than for the turtles.

The dark chapter: Bali and the turtle trade

Researchers and conservation groups describe Tanjung Benoa, in southern Bali, as the best-known hub of the green turtle trade, with Serangan island as another centre. Turtles were sold for their meat, including for ceremonial dishes, and for their shells. A report in a CMS annex says the published trade data probably underestimates the real volume, because much of it happened out of sight. WWF Bali links the trade, together with beach development and destructive fishing, to a decline of 40 to 80 per cent in nesting turtles in the Indo-Australasian region.

Protection came step by step. Most turtle species were protected nationally between 1978 and 1996, after international pressure through CITES. The green turtle was added in 1999, under Government Regulation No. 7 of 1999 on the Preservation of Plant and Animal Species, and it is still on Indonesia's protected list today (Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation P.106 of 2018). The law prohibits catching, keeping, transporting and trading turtles, their products and their eggs, and since the conservation law was amended in 2024, keeping or trading a protected animal, alive or dead, can bring 3 to 15 years in prison. Bali itself banned the turtle trade in 2000. In February 2001, police tore down the holding pens, released the turtles back to the sea, and took traders to court.

It did not end overnight. In 2011, a seizure of 18 green turtles off Tanjung Benoa showed that secret trade continued where there was demand. The same year, ProFauna Indonesia reported that killing and trading had fallen by about 90 per cent. By its own account, the group found signs of the old trade coming back in January 2013. I could not find reliable, current numbers, so I will not tell you the problem is solved. What I can say is that it is much smaller than before.

What a hatchery does well, and where it can go wrong

A hatchery can protect eggs from foot traffic, erosion and high tides, and on a busy beach that is a real help. The question is what happens next. Guidance from the IOSEA Marine Turtle agreement, part of the UN Convention on Migratory Species, says hatchlings should be released as soon as they emerge. Every hour of delay risks exhaustion, dehydration, overheating and the loss of the yolk energy they need to reach open water.

Timing matters too. Hatchlings naturally come out at night, when predators find them harder to see. Travel guidance notes that many tourist releases happen in daylight, when birds and some fish pick off hatchlings easily, and recommends insisting on a night release. So a release held in the afternoon for a crowd is a warning sign. I wrote more about this in turtle releases in Bali: when conservation becomes an event and in how baby turtles should reach the sea.

How does the Gili turtle project work?

On Gili Trawangan, Proyek Penyu is run by the Gili Eco Trust. The team is made up of young local women, and they talk with the businesses along the beach. Their work includes encouraging immediate release to the ocean and reducing the number of hatchlings kept in buckets, tanks or shallow pools. Trained volunteers walk the beach at sunrise, about 28 to 30 times a month, looking for tracks and nests.

I like that their reports are honest about the pressure on the island. In the 2025 report, nearly all nesting turtles were olive ridleys, which the report describes as protected but less commonly seen there. The team had to move many more nests than in 2024 because of erosion and construction. Only 3.74 km of the island's 7.3 km of sandy beach is free of walls and other obstacles, and high tides can flood nests. A planned hatchery should give a safe place to incubate eggs, with a target of up to 4,800 eggs a year. That number is a goal, not a measured result.

If you want to go deeper, our guide to Gili conservation projects explains who does what, and seeing sea turtles responsibly in the Gili Islands covers the in-water side.

What you can do as a visitor

In the water, keep your distance, and never touch, chase or ride a turtle. A comfortable mask and snorkel lets you float quietly and watch from further away, and a long-sleeved rash guard lets you stay for a long, slow session without reaching for more sun cream. If you meet a nesting turtle or hatchlings on the beach, stay back, keep your lights off and do not use flash.

Do not pay to hold a baby turtle, and do not eat turtle. If you visit a hatchery, ask three things: when are the turtles released, do eggs stay in the sand where possible, and can visitors hold the hatchlings? If the answers are vague, the honest choice is to support local rangers instead. You can meet the green turtle and the hawksbill turtle in our Ocean Atlas.

Where Ocean Calling stands

We do not offer hatchling holding or releases, and we point people toward groups that protect nests and let hatchlings go on their own. Wildlife encounters are unpredictable. Snorkelling with sea turtles should always follow local regulations and experienced professional guidance.

If this made you curious about the Gilis, you can look at our Gili Trawangan trip through Ocean Match. It is a referral, not a hosted retreat: we help you find the right local team, and you book with them directly. Ocean Match explains how it works. Rules and projects change, so please check the current situation before you travel.

Questions people ask

Wildlife encounters are never guaranteed and never forced. Ocean Calling works only with vetted, ethical local operators, and every animal is free to approach, or not, entirely on its own terms.