Low tide reveals more sea turtles hidden under house of nabbed ‘poacher’

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—Authorities enforcing environmental laws, who returned Wednesday to conduct a final assessment on a stilt house in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi that earlier yielded 66 dried turtles, made a surprising discovery—more live marine turtles trapped in a net cage.

Sea turtles. AFP FILE PHOTO

According to Superintendent Rodelio Jocson, Tawi-Tawi police chief, 39 live turtles in a net enclosure hidden beneath the bamboo house on stilts owned by Utong Gumbahali, were exposed after tidal waters in the coastal town receded.

“Our forces returned on Wednesday to conduct final assessment inside the house of Gumbahali after the seizure of 66 dried sea turtles last June 12 and found a huge net under the house, which yielded many turtles,” Jocson said by phone.

The 39 hawksbill and green sea turtles—both protected species—were immediately tagged by personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Sitangkai before being set free, Jocson said.

Jocson said a total of 105 dead and live turtles seized from Gumbahali’s house had been accounted for.

The suspected poacher is being detained and charged with violation of the Wildlife Act, he said.

“Gumbahali sells the turtles to Malaysia since Sitangkai is very near Sabah,” Jocson said.

On Tuesday, operatives of the police and the Philippine Marines on joint sea patrol stumbled on Gumbahali’s illegal trade after seeing the dried turtles hanging in his house in Sitio Tinambak. The sea patrol team immediately approached the house and confiscated 66 dried turtles, Jocson said.

The authorities apparently missed the net cage holding the live turtles beneath the stilt house because it was submerged by high tide.

Jocson said the largest dried turtles have shell dimensions of 32 x 24 inches while the smallest ones have dimensions of 21×17 inches. The seized contraband is now in the custody of the police.

Illegal capture of turtles and other banned marine species remains unabated in the vast sea surrounding the Western Mindanao areas.

In May last year, the Bureau of Customs in Manila seized some P31 million worth of protected marine species that were poached from the region and transported to the Philippine capital by several companies based here.

Asis Perez, national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said subsequent raids on some companies here yielded tons of banned marine species.

Among those charged with violation of the Fisheries Code and other laws were couples Olivia Li and husband Li Ming Nyu alias Joe Pring; Benny and Rosario Yu and several other persons.

The Lis remain at large.

The Yus had contested the charges, arguing that their warehouse had been rented out to the Lis and that they had no control over the business of the tenants.

Benjamin Tabios Jr., BFAR Manila assistant director, described the volume of the seized marine species, including rare corals, from the Lis’ warehouse here as “five times more than what was seized in Manila.”

At 41 metric tons, the seized items from the Lis warehouses here amounted to P155 million, he said.