ROXAS City – An endangered female green sea turtle with a broken carapace was found dead along the shore of Barangay Baybay around 8 p.m. on Nov. 30.
The turtle – already showing signs of decomposition – measured 68.58 cm in length and 54.102 cm in width. Around its head was a rope.
According to the Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO), the turtle was buried after its morphometric data were taken.
Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are considered endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Despite this, they are still killed for their meat and eggs.
Their numbers are also reduced by boat propeller accidents, fishnet-caused drowning, and the destruction of their nesting grounds by human encroachment.
Green sea turtles are carnivorous from hatchling until the juvenile stage and shift to an herbivorous diet as their serrated jaws adapt for most vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algae.
These marine reptiles migrate thousands of miles over their lifetime to feed, breed, and lay eggs. They have an internal global positioning system using the earth’s magnetic field, pinpointing specific coastlines based on their magnetic signature. Female turtles are able to return to the exact place where they were born to lay their eggs.
According to the CaPENRO, sea turtles play an important role in maintaining the health of oceans. They need utmost protection so they can continue to reproduce.
CaPENRO urged the public to alert it should they find sea turtles.
Section 27 of Republic Act 9147 (“Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act”) prohibits collecting, hunting and possessing of wildlife and their by-products and derivatives.
Anyone found guilty of violating this law shall be imprisoned to a maximum of two years and fined of up to P200,000.
The green sea turtle inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world and has been observed clambering onto land to sunbathe.
It is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish color of its skin./PN
