Release of 100-kg turtle marks start of nesting season
By Tonette Orejas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:14:00 09/03/2008
Filed Under: Animals, Regional authorities
CLARK FREEPORT – Zambales residents marked the start of the annual turtle nesting season in the province by releasing a 100-kilogram female green turtle to the South China Sea on Aug. 26.
The turtle joined more than 17,500 hatchlings that had been freed to the sea since 2002, under the Zambales Turtle Conservation Program (ZTCP), said Bruce Oliver, chair of the Environmental Protection of Asia Foundation Inc. (Epafi), in a telephone interview.
The ZTCP is implemented by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Epafi and the Zambales government. It maintains three hatcheries near the Punta de Uian Resort in San Antonio, Rama Resort in Botolan and Palmera Gardens in Iba.
The hatcheries are run by ZCP volunteers and resort workers, Oliver said.
He said Helen Sila, a resident in Barangay Pundaquit in San Antonio, found the green turtle at 1 a.m. near her house. It was released 10 hours later by residents and village officials led by barangay captain Erwin Saderna.
Coming at the onset of the nesting season that lasts from August to March, Oliver said the release of the green turtle signified the commitment of the villagers to conserve the eggs rather than sell or consume these for their supposed aphrodisiac value.
Based on the monitoring of the ZTCP, three species of marine turtles nest on the coast of Zambales.
These are the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), green turtle (Chelonia myd), and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate). The Convention on International Trade and Endangered Species list these as endangered to critically endangered species.
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