Endangered turtle rescued off South Harbor

MANILA, Philippines - A juvenile Hawksbill turtle was found off the wharf of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) headquarters at the South Harbor yesterday morning.

PCG dental assistant Seaman Second Caesar Ryan Alvarez said he was smoking at the wharf at around 9:30 a.m. when he spotted the turtle.

“At first I thought it was garbage floating on the water or a basket but when I saw it move, I realized that it was a turtle. I immediately went into the water to get it. The turtle was weak and did not fight when I captured it,” Alvarez said.

PCG spokesman Lieutenant Commander Arman Balilo said that this was not the first time they found a turtle, in the vicinity of the PCG. “Maybe the turtle was disoriented and (strayed) from its usual migration pattern,” he said.

The sea creature’s migration route is from the Fortune Island in Batangas to Zambales and Bataan and back.

Balilo turned the Hawksbill turtle, estimated to be between one year and three years old, over to the representatives from the Pawikan Conservation Project-Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PCP-PAWB) for proper disposition.

PCP-PAWB biologist Nilo Romoso said while he could not give an estimate on the number of Hawksbill turtles, he said the number of these turtles declined by more than 90 percent over the years. “It is on the brink of extinction,” he said.

Romoso said the Hawksbill is preferred to other kinds of turtles because of its “attractive scales, hard shell, and it has more uses. It can be used to make export products such as frames for eyeglasses, picture frames, bangles, and earrings.”

Each scale can reportedly be sold for $250. The turtle found yesterday has 13 scales and would have been worth $3,250 or P146,250.

The average life span of the Hawksbill turtle is 80 years, and yesterday’s find was said to be still in the “juvenile” stage. It measured 45.5 centimeters in length and 41.6 centimeters in width.

“The turtle is still active and moved a lot. But we notice that it has a scar and there are holes at the back of its carapace. It seemed that it has already been captured before, maybe by some fisherman who turned it into his pet, but the turtle managed to escape,” Romoso said. – Evelyn Macairan