Authorities release sea turtle caught in Leyte town

HILONGOS, LEYTE, Philippines – Authorities yesterday released back to sea a ten-kilo sea turtle that was found trapped in a net by a fisherman in Barangay Naval of this town.

Fisherman Jeremias Flores accidentally caught the sea turtle by his fishing net less than 50 meters from the shoreline, while he was about to unload the contents of the net to his banca.

He then turned over the 23” x 21” leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), commonly called in Leyte and Bohol areas as “katoan,” to Barangay Chairman Elmer Luzon, who was an advocate himself in protection of endangered species.

Luzon said, “According to our barangay elders, sea turtles frequented our area for a long time now.” Of the 10 sea turtles captured in the town’s coastal areas since 2009, Brgy. Naval got the most with six.

Mayor Jose Emery Roble praised the barangay chairman and the residents of Naval for their acts of protecting marine life in the area. “For six times, you caught and released sea turtles. You are all living examples of men harmoniously co-existing with your environment,” he said as he led in the releasing of the marine animal to the sea.

Jose Tagsip, technician of the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist Office, told The Freeman that Binobuang River, located between the barangays of Naval and Owak, is the nesting place of these leatherback turtles. “That’s why a lot of them are in the vicinity during the season (mating/nesting season),” he said.

Leatherbacks can live for 45 years, and can grow up to 6ft 2ins in length. A female, right after hatching eggs, will leave to the high seas and return only to nest in the exact place where the previous eggs were laid. Each nest can contain up to 80 eggs. The gender of offspring will depend on the temperature during incubation period – males in high temperature while females are products of low temperature.  

Chief Insp. Ramil Amodia, Hilongos Police chief, and Chief Insp. Jerry Noel Ducentes, provincial officer of the Leyte Norte Highway Patrol Group, who were among the officials who witnessed the release of the turtle along with some chairmen of neighboring barangays, said they were satisfied to see the glow of the turtle’s eyes as it swam back to the waters with the wind breezing past her.

The turtle was motionless for a moment as if making sure that the unmistakable sound of the wavelets caressing the sandy beach was not a dream. She then started to crawl, tasted the fresh salty water upon reaching the water edge before flipping smoothly away from the shore towards freedom in the vast sea. 

Amodia said the capture and eventual release of the sea turtle can be considered a success in the fight against illegal fishing and exploitation of other marine creatures. – (FREEMAN)