123 sea turtles recovered in Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - Navy troops have recovered a total of 123 sea turtles in Balabac, Palawan but failed to arrest the poachers who collected them.

Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said members of the Naval Forces West found the sea turtles inside three submerged cages made of mangrove branches.

Tonsay said the turtles were recovered last Tuesday during an operation against poachers along the vicinity of Sitio Dunglog in Barangay Caguisan, Balabac town.

“All six unidentified suspects, however, immediately fled the site utilizing two small boats going toward different directions when they saw the elements of the Naval Forces West approaching their location,” he said.

The cages were hidden among the mangroves. The area had four huts believed to have been used by lookouts who would warn the poachers about the presence of authorities.

Six of the 123 sea turtles had died by the time they were recovered by the Navy.

Tonsay said the poachers were believed to be collecting sea turtles to sell them to buyers believed to be funded by Chinese patrons.

Most of the recovered turtles weigh 50 to 60 kilos. The 117 surviving turtles were turned over to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Palawan before they were released at Roughton Island last Thursday.

The release point is about an hour’s boat ride from the Balabac town proper and was designated by the local government as a sanctuary for maritime species.

The six dead turtles were buried at a beach close to the area.

In Zamboanga City, villagers of Barangay Bolong rescued a 38-kilogram Olive Ridley sea turtle on Thursday night and released it back to the sea.

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda has joined the call to save the Philippine marine turtles or “pawikan” after she graced the recent 2012 Pawikan Festival held at the Pawikan Conservation Center in Morong, Bataan.

In her keynote speech at the festival, Legarda said the pawikan is one of the oldest species that have survived to this day, and are among those that live the longest.

“The pawikan are majestic creatures found throughout the country. However, because of poaching, theft of their eggs for commercial purposes, and destruction of their habitat, they are in danger of becoming extinct,” she said.

“There is no denying that we have become the biggest threat to their existence and to the existence of many other species of animals,” she added. – Alexis Romero, Roel Pareño, Christina Mendez, Raffy Viray