Muoi Nuoi stands by a sea turtle.

In coastal Thai An village, a man named Muoi Nuoi is known as “the king of sea turtles”.

In Thai An village, in southern Ninh Thuan province, one-time sea turtle hunter, Muoi Nuoi has become a volunteer in the sea turtle protection team of Nui Chua National Park.

At 70, Muoi Nuoi goes to the beach each day to see whether sea turtles have come ashore to lay eggs. He told his story at the beach as the sun set, with the whisper of the sea in the background.

From a sea turtle killer…

Born in a fishing village and growing up with the sea, Muoi Nuoi knows the territorial waters around him like the palm of his hand.

At 18, he was well known among the fishing villages at the foot of Nui Chua mountain for his talent in hunting sea turtle.

Observing the prints the sea turtles left on the beach in the early morning, he knew whether they would continue to come ashore or not, and the exact sites where they would arrive in the evening to lay their eggs.

Every time he went to the beach, he captured sea turtles and eggs, which meant money: “At the time a sea turtle of over one hundred kilos brought me one hundred kilos of rice. Three turtles were equivalent to one bicycle,” he remembered.

During the breeding season, Muoi Nuoi could catch five to seven turtles a night, meaning he had a lot of money for indulging in pleasure, saying “When I was out of money, I went to the sea to catch turtles for money, and the cycle continued”.

Muoi Nuoi was famous among fishermen for his turtle catching talent, and famous at restaurants and bars in Phan Rang for ‘burning’ through his money. He supported three wives and many children with the money brought from sea turtles. Muoi Nuoi’s life revolved around catching turtles and digging for eggs.

When asked how many turtles and eggs he found, he replied, “How can I remember! I caught turtles everyday, dug sand for turtle eggs everyday, many, many!” However, if each day Muoi Nuoi only caught one turtle, over the past 50 years, this equates to more than 20,000 sea turtles, not to mention thousands of eggs.

…To turtle protector

“Leading a fast life is short. Windfalls are returned to the Gods!” he said. Muoi Nuoi now has just a simple thatched house, two daughters, and a band of grandchildren, but in mid-2000, a meeting changed his life.

Le Xuan Ai, Director of Con Dao National Park went to the area to learn about sea turtles in preparation for a preservation project of the animal facing extinction.

Knowing Muoi Nuoi as a one-time turtle hunter, he met him to learn more about sea turtles in the area, and Muoi Nuoi became a guide for Ai’s sea surveys. Muoi Nuoi’s stories and the surveys confirmed Ai’s judgment that the area could become a sea turtle biosphere zone.

A sea turtle protection station was built there with funding from the World Wildlife Fund (WFF), and talking with Ai, Muoi Nuoi understood more about the animal that he had murdered without mercy and decided to become a volunteer in the sea turtle protection team to “redeem his past wrongs”.

Thai An villagers were surprised when Muoi Nuoi frequented fishing boats in the region to talk about sea turtles, and how and why to protect them.

“Foreigners give us money to protect them so why we shouldn’t we protect them?” he asked. Day by day his story has entered the minds of fishermen, and he has convinced over ten turtle hunters to join the protection team.

Muoi Nuoi changed his job but his 50-year turtle-hunting experience is still useful. His first task after joining the protection team was to teach local fishermen, and even some doctors and experts on the habits of sea turtles.

While working for the sea turtle protection team, he also picks up empty bottles on the beach, cleaning whilst earning more money to support his grandchildren.

I’ll work till I can’t

Muoi Nuoi still goes to the beach every morning. He still observes the sky, the clouds, the waves, and the traces of turtle fins left on the sand, not for hunting turtles as before, but to inform members of the sea turtle protection station.

Since Muoi Nuoi joined the team, other team members only need wait on his information before carrying baskets to the beach to await the turtles each night, and collect the eggs that they lay for hatching.

For the past five years, Muoi Nuoi and other members of the station have collected tens of thousands of sea turtle eggs, hatching them and returning baby turtles to the sea. The number of sea turtles in the area is now on the rise and sea turtles no longer have to panic when they see Muoi Nuoi on the beach.

The project is seen as a big success in “living together with sea turtles”, a model praised by WWF. Saying goodbye, Muoi Nuoi said: “I’ll work with the station until I can’t any longer. I made mistakes in the past and now I have to redeem my crime against the turtles”.