AFTER incidences of Owl and Brahminy kite rescue, here come the sea turtles assisted by its human friends in going back to the sea. Could it be mere coincidence or could it be the “lockdown effect”?
Despite the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affecting the world with its drastic effect of killing thousands, there is an unexpected surprise: the healing of the environment. Thanks to numerous lockdown and quarantine measures, several industries halted their operations which resulted to clean air and water. It brought light to coastal and marine ecosystems as sea animals especially the sea turtles thrive with less pollution.
Sea turtles can nest on beaches and swim freely without human interruption. Although there could be instances like being stuck on nets while fisher folks were fishing, rescuing these sea creatures are some of the measures to conserve and preserve for a balance of nature.
In Aklan, a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle was rescued after it got trapped on the fish cage by a fisherman named Junifer Inclocido. The sea turtle weighed eighteen (18) pounds with a carapace length of forty three (43) centimeters and width of forty five (45) centimeters.
A team from Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Aklan conducted the tagging of the sea turtle’s flipper for identification purposes. It was released back to the ocean by the team together with members of Aklan Integrated Reforestation Project (AIR-Pro) at Brgy. Jawili, Tangalan, Aklan.
Meanwhile, some 20 kilometers away, a male Green sea turtle was also rescued by the fishermen, namely: Joseph Francisco, Sr. and Mark Joseph Pajarito, at Brgy. Poblacion, Nabas, Aklan after being trapped on their fish cage. The endangered sea turtle weighed thirty (30) pounds with a carapace length of twenty (20) inches and a width of sixteen (16) inches. It was tagged properly and released back to the ocean.
An Olive ridley sea turtle was rescued after it got trapped on the fish cage at Brgy. Pasil, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental. The fishermen told Environment Management Specialist II (EMS II) Jojo Vargas that it was the first huge sea turtle trapped on their fish cage. It has a carapace of estimated 2.5 feet in length and 1.5 feet in width and was immediately released back to the ocean.
These various sea turtle species, the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) is listed as Critically Endangered (CR), the Green sea (Chelonia mydas) is listed as Endangered (EN) and the Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) islisted as Vulnerable (VU) under the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources continues to educate the people on the importance of these marine animals to our biodiversity. These resources provide food, livelihood and recreation services that benefit us ecologically and economically. Let us keep our coastal and marine waters clean and sustain the habitat of these precious animals,” said DENR 6 regional executive director Francisco E. Milla, Jr.
Prior to lockdown, information officers in the DENR field offices had tirelessly conducted forum, Pulong-Pulong and Dalaw Turo sessions in barangays and schools, campaigning for wildlife protection. Those efforts are paying off with people becoming more aware of the need to return wildlife, such as those beautiful turtles, back to their habitat.
DENR Secretary Roy a. Cimatu also urges coastal communities to support the Department in enhancing biodiversity conservation. Aside from being one of the ten priority programs of Cimatu, coastal dwellers are the direct beneficiaries and benefit from it the most.
Whether it is a coincidence or a “lockdown effect”, rescue of sea turtles is an indication that our sea waters still abound with marine life – and that is one good reason we must keep our oceans clean.(DENR 6)
