Life in the Davao Gulf: DENR asked to act vs threats to ‘pawikan’

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 11 (DENR 11) needs to immediately address threats to marine turtles (pawikan) in the Davao Gulf, says volunteer worker Ernesto T. Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz is a volunteer researcher on marine turtles who started in El Nido, Palawan in 1986, and has been tagging and monitoring pawikans in the Davao Gulf since 1989.
He is also involved in Task Force Pawikan Davao at Punta Dumalag since 2004.
In response to his incident report on sea turtle exploitation and trade routes in Davao Oriental she submitted to the Pawikan Conservation Project – Parks and Wildlife Bureau (PCP-PAWB) on April of 2009, a team from PCP-PAWB conducted an investigation on September 7 to 11, 2009.
The PCP-PAWB released its report on the investigation of reported commissions of illegal acts under Republic Act No. 9147 particularly involving sea turtle by-products or derivatives in the province of Davao Oriental and Davao City on January20, 2010.

While the investigation confirmed his incident report, Santa Cruz said he is not aware of any action by DENR 11 or PCP-PAWB regional office since the report was released.
Wanting to know where the budget for pawikan conservation in the Davao Gulf goes, he said the laws that protect sea turtles are not effectively enforced.
He recently submitted a report on sea turtle exploitation incident in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) to Jaime O. Sampulna, regional director of the DENR 11, the PCP-PAWB, and the city government of IGaCoS, but has not received any reply.
Confirmed
Illegal hunting and trading of hawksbill scutes or scales have long been established in Davao Oriental.
In fact, a team from PCP-PAWB validated Santa Cruz’ report on this problem in Davao Oriental on April 28, 2009.
The findings confirmed the reported commission of prohibited acts under RA 9147 particularly involving marine turtles and marine turtle scutes in Davao Oriental and Davao City.
The PCP-PAWB team reported that they received reports that marine turtles are killed for meat but the scutes trade is the more common reason.
Collected scutes from Davao Oriental follow two routes: (1) Davao Oriental aeras, Mati, Zamboanga City, Cebu or Manila, and (2) Davao Oriental areas, Davao City, possible further destinations.
Zamboanga City appears to be a major trading point while Cebu and Manila are mentioned as processing or manufacturing areas.
Based on this, it may be possible that some of the scutes in the confiscated nine sacks of marine turtle scutes at the North Harbor Manila on November 16, 2005 may be from Davao Oriental area.
It was noted that the shipment came from Zamboanga City.
The team stated in the report that they had an informal interview with alleged scutes trader Cris Silongan.
Silongan admitted that scutes are delivered to him by unidentified persons, most probably fishermen.
His buying price for a kilo of complete set of 13 pieces scutes is around P1,500 to P2,000, depending on the quality.
He buys incomplete or assorted set of white scutes at P300 per kilo.
He also mentioned that blue scutes, which are allegedly very rare, may fetch for P30,000 per kilo for complete set.
Santa Cruz said in his incident report in 2009 that sub adult and adult size of hawksbill scutes are sold at P1,500 per kilo and the juvenile size at P700 per kilo in Barangay Bato-Bato, San Isidro, Davao Oriental.
This was part of the findings of a research team led by Santa Cruz, conducting surveys on sea turtle exploitation and trade routes based on the mandate of the proposal dated April 15, 2009, as approved and supported by Sangguniang Bayan member Justina Yu.
It was stated that the municipality of Governor Generoso is one of the areas where hawksbills are caught; the processing being done in Brgy. Bato-Bato, San Isidro.
The identified collection or storage center is in Sitio Magsaysay, Mati City; and that scutes are transported to Tibungco, Davao City, and from Davao City to either Zamboanga City or Cebu City.
Climate change
There were 313 (61%) hawksbill hatched from four clutches (nest of turtle eggs) that were laid between July-August 2003 in Punta Dumalag, Davao City.
However, the population declined by 80-90% since the 1950’s due to directed take and habitat degradation, according to informants from the community.
In 2003, Task Force Pawikan Dabaw was created, chaired by Councilor Leo Avila III, under the Executive Order No. 29 series of 2003, an order creating a task force for the protection and conservation of marine turtles found in Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya, Davao City.
Santa Cruz, who was part of the research, monitoring and conservation of the sea turtles, said the decrease of their population was due to rising temperature on nesting beaches and rise of sea level, which accounted for the impacts of climate change, thus, part of the conservation is to transfer the eggs to artificial nests.
However, human activities such as poaching, and wild animals feed imposed a great threat to marine turtles.
The sea turtles in Punta Dumalag have not returned since 2008, he told Edge.
As highly migratory species, sea turtles leave their nests in search for food, but are expected to return to their original nests.
But, because of sea level rise, an impact of climate change, the sea turtles transferred their nest to neighboring coasts.
He said there are only three nests that he has monitored lately, which are at the beach of Brgy Lawis, Sirawan, Toril, Davao City. The City Agriculturist’s Office located the Pawikan Conservation Area there.
The gulf has a chance
Noting cases of wild life entering or passing by the Davao Gulf, Santa Cruz said “The Davao Gulf has a chance. We only need to protect it.”
He said the reason why whale sharks and other huge marine species are seen passing by the gulf is because of food, citing Tubalan, Malita has wide sea grass beds.

Having been involved in the conservation of Tubbataha reef in Sulu, and coral reefs in Palawan, Santa Cruz has high hopes for Davao Gulf if only laws are enforced and programs are effectively implemented.

“What are they doing to protect?,” he said pertaining to government in general. He said the incident in IGaCoS reported last February brings shame to the country’s tourism especially that it was a foreigner who found the carapace of a turtle.

He believes that if people will preserve and protect the Davao Gulf and the marine life it supports, there will be more food in the table, a boost in tourism, and economic development.