by Henrylito D. Tacio
On August 5, at around 1:30 a.m., Jessy Amora, a fisherman, caught a sea turtle on a fish net just one kilometer offshore Pinamitinan village in Marabut town. A kind of leatherback turtle, it “measures six feet in length, 34 inches in width of carapace and 18 inches thickness.” However, the weight was unknown.
The state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported: “The photo of the pawikan tied to a bamboo post and a man sitting on top of it was posted on Facebook and it went viral online. Netizens and environmentalists reacted furiously, including the group Marine Watch of the Philippines.”
Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, the director of the Bureau of Management Biodiversity (BMB), also saw it so she immediately alerted the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) “to take appropriate action.”
Ten hours after it was caught, the pawikan was released back at sea.
“It’s good that someone informed one of our personnel who advised locals to release the captured pawikan back to the sea. Fishermen would have slaughtered the reptile if authorities were not informed,” DENR Regional Director Leonardo Sibbaluca was quoted as saying.
Marine turtles belong to the order Chelonia, an order of reptiles that has existed and flourished since prehistory with very little change in their basic structure.
Of the eight species of marine turtles known to man, five of them can be found in the Philippines. These are the Green Sea (known in the science world as Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and Leatherback (Dermocheyls coriacea).
The three others are the Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempi), Flatback (Chelonia depressa), and Black Sea (Chelonia agassizi).
Unfortunately, all eight species are listed under the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which means the trade of these species and subspecies is strictly “prohibited except for educational, scientific or research and study purposes.”
The Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has also classified the eight species as endangered. This is so because “their populations are in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the causal factors continue to operate.”
The Philippines is a signatory of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and implements the Pawikan Conservation Project nationwide through the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Since 2001, hunting, sale and killing of marine turtles have been banned in the country.
But despite sincere efforts by the government and some environmentalist groups to save marine turtles from extinction, the decimation of the endangered species continues unabated.
“All of the species found in our country are endangered except for the Hawksbill which is critically endangered,” said Dr. Arnel “AA” Yaptinchay, founder and director of the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines. “The only sure thing is that marine turtle populations are under tremendous threats and if these are not stopped, extinction is imminent.”
Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources believes so, too. “Unless we, Filipinos, seriously take on the task of protecting the much endangered marine turtles, these ancient creatures will soon be gone (from our waters),” Haribon, which is regarded as a pioneer of the environmental movement in the Philippines, said in a statement.
Unknowingly, most Filipinos don’t know that tourism may also play a big part in making marine turtles extinct. “Tourism in natural places that does not take into account the effect they have to the environment is the threat,” explained Dr. Yaptinchay. “In the Philippines, where it seems that every inch of our beaches will soon be developed for tourism, this will become a big threat for marine turtles.”
According to Dr. Yaptinchay, development of the coast where buildings are to be constructed will displace marine turtles from one of their most important life cycle habitats, referring to the nesting beach.
“Lights, infrastructure, noise, domestic animals, and pollution will not only disturb those nesting females but also their hatchlings,” he said. “Marine turtles will not nest when disturbed.”
Studies have shown that marine turtles spend most of their life in the sea and get all the things they need there. They even mate in the sea. But when the time comes to lay their eggs, the females return to shore, usually in the same place where they were hatched.
“If you imagine a first time nester approaching its place of birth, how much do you think of its birth place or nesting beach remains over the last 35-50 years?” Dr. Yaptinchay asked. “I would guess there would be very little space left for it to nest and enough disturbance developed to shoo it away. We are preventing them from fulfilling their life purpose. For me this is very tragic.”
In some instances, some tourism facilities view marine turtles as attractions. “This is fine if you view marine turtles from a distance, but most (beach owners) are greedy and would take a turtle and put it in a tank for secured viewing for their guests,” Dr. Yaptinchay said.
But what he considered as worrisome is when beach owners would tie the turtle to a tree. “This has happened and is still happening,” deplored Dr. Yaptinchay.
Under sections 27 and 28 of Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Act, penalty will be imposed by the DENR to people who is pictured riding, sitting, and tying pawikan in the post.
Some resorts located in some islands sometimes think they are helping marine turtles by keeping hatchlings in containers and allow them to grow for a few months before releasing them into the open sea.
“What they do not realize is that they have just disrupted the whole life cycle of the turtles,” Dr. Yaptinchay said. “Hatchlings are supposed to be in open pelagic waters for the first decade of their lives. Again an important phase in their lives is affected.”
However, Dr. Yaptinchay believes there are ways to develop tourism without compromising the integrity of the environment. “Technology and knowledge already exists,” he said. “We just need to learn to give the environment more importance than the money we earn.”
According to Dr. Yaptinchay, his organization is working with the tourism department in developing interaction guidelines for tourists, resorts, and dive operators to prevent disturbance to marine turtles.
Meanwhile, the environment department is intensifying its efforts in protecting the endangered marine turtles under the Pawikan Conservation Project. Mere possession and killing of this species under Wildlife Act is punishable under the law.
