Logline

一名海龜研究者前往印尼卡伊島，紀錄瀕臨絕種的太平洋革龜族群，他在親身經歷當地原住民獵捕革龜的文化後，重新思考保育與傳統、人與海洋的共生關係。

In Indonesia’s remote Kei Islands, a travelling sea turtle researcher witnesses an ancient indigenous hunt, questioning where modern conservation meets ancestral tradition.

Film Teaser

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Synopsis

蘇淮花了十年時間，潛入海龜的世界。作為一名台灣潛水教練與自學成才的海洋生物研究員，他創立了「海龜點點名」，建立起一套大眾皆能參與的海龜相片辨識系統，至今已成功記錄並追蹤超過八百隻海龜。對他而言，每一隻海龜都有獨一無二的面孔、歷史與故事。

在小琉球記錄海龜多年後，蘇淮開始好奇其他地方「海洋與人」的關係與相處模式，也開始前往世界各地透過影像紀錄七種海龜的身影。然而，主要生活於遠洋的革龜始終罩著一層神秘面紗，極難在水下目擊。

在得知印尼卡伊群島的海域是世界上難得一見的太平洋革龜出沒點，蘇淮決定啟程，踏上一趟探索之旅。

在卡伊群島，革龜被當地原住民尊稱為「Tabob」，革龜是他們的祖先、是村落的一份子、也是一個用族語呼喊時，牠會現身讓全村得以溫飽的食物。

保育、生存、文化與身份認同之間的界線，在此刻變得無比模糊。

隨著蘇淮與當地社群共同生活，他開始反思：保護一個物種究竟意味著什麼？誰又有權力去定義這種保護？當一個物種與一個社群的身份認同密不可分時，拯救其中一方是否也能拯救另一方？

《尋革龜》記錄了蘇淮的旅程：從透過觀察與數據來認識海龜，到直面一種無法被簡化為數據的自然關係。本片並非試圖對這項捕獵行為做出道德審判，而是選擇停留在這段遭遇所帶來的沉重與不安之中，引導我們思考：當我們允許看待自然世界可以用不同方式彼此並存時，我們能從中學到些什麼？

Su Huai spent a decade immersing himself in the world of sea turtles. As a Taiwanese diving instructor and self-taught marine biology researcher, he founded ‘Turtle Spot Taiwan’, establishing a citizen science photo-identification system that has successfully documented and tracked over 800 sea turtles to date. For him, every sea turtle possesses a unique face, history, and story.

After years of recording sea turtles in Xiaoliuqiu in Taiwan, Su Huai grew curious about how humans and the ocean interact elsewhere, prompting him to travel the globe documenting all seven sea turtle species through his camera lens. However, the leatherback turtle, which lives primarily in the open ocean, remains shrouded in mystery, making underwater sightings exceptionally rare. Upon learning that the waters around Indonesia’s Kei Islands are a rare hotspot for Pacific leatherbacks, Su Huai decided to set off on a journey of discovery.

In the Kei Islands, the leatherback is revered by local Indigenous people as ‘Tabob’. The leatherback is their ancestor, a member of the village, and a vital food source that appears to sustain the community when summoned in their native tongue. Here, the boundaries between conservation, survival, culture, and identity become deeply blurred.

As Su Huai lives alongside the local community, he begins to reflect: what does it truly mean to protect a species? Who holds the authority to define such protection? When a species is inextricably linked to a community’s identity, can saving one also save the other?

Seeking Tabob documents Su Huai’s journey, from understanding sea turtles through observation and data to confronting a relationship with nature that cannot be reduced to simple statistics. Rather than passing moral judgement on the hunt, the film lingers in the weight and disquiet of this encounter, inviting us to reflect on what we might learn when we allow different ways of perceiving the natural world to coexist.

Labs & Grants

• 2025 National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF) Documentary Grant | Taiwan