70 Olive ridley turtle hatchlings released in Tayabas Bay

LUCENA CITY – Fishers, environmentalists, and government officials set free 70 Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) hatchlings to their natural habitat in Tayabas Bay in Sariaya town, Quezon province on Friday, Nov. 18.

The baby turtles were released on the seashore in Barangay Bignay 2 on Friday afternoon. The event was witnessed and documented by representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government.

“They were the first batch in this year’s nesting season,” said Sherwin Rosales, fishery technician at the municipal government’s agriculture office.

Rosales said more than 800 turtle eggs were still being hatched in three nesting sites in the coastal villages of Bignay 2, Castañas, and San Roque.

“Barring any untoward incidents, they will be released next month,” he said.

More than 600 turtle eggs waiting to be hatched were wiped out by huge waves during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae) late last month.

After the typhoon, local fishermen, fish wardens (bantay dagat), and villagers built new nesting sites in safe areas along the coasts using the stock materials provided by the local government.

Jay Lim, environmentalist group Tanggol Kalikasan (TK) project manager, said some fishers also built new turtle nests using salvaged materials like nylon nets that the typhoon brought into the coasts.

“It’s a collective effort. They all want to bring back the ‘pawikan’ (sea turtle),” Lim said. The presence of the pawikan indicates a balanced marine ecosystem. For fisherfolk, it also means a school of fish is in the vicinity.

The Sariaya coastline, host to many beach resorts and other tourist-oriented businesses, serves as a sanctuary for marine turtles that usually come to lay and hatch their eggs from October to December.

The release of the turtles during the past years has become a tourist attraction that draws crowds of children, students, and Manila-based visitors.

Lim appealed to the public to help protect and preserve all endangered marine species.

“Their social media posts are powerful tools for the education and information of the public,” he explained.

Lim also urged the authorities to conduct widespread and continuous campaigns against various forms of illegal fishing at the bay.

“Usually, the pieces of equipment of the illegal fishers are often the cause of deaths of sea turtles,” he explained.

Numerous “baklad” or huge stationary fish traps sunk into the bottom of the bay pose deadly threats to sea turtles.

Lim said they recorded numerous beaching of dead turtles from the bay that suffocated after getting entangled in the fish traps.

“Even juvenile fish could not escape from the baklads,” he explained.

Tayabas Bay stretches from San Juan town in Batangas province to the towns of Sariaya, Pagbilao, Padre Burgos, Agdangan, Unisan, Pitogo, Macalelon, General Luna, Catanauan, Mulaney, and San Francisco, as well as Lucena City in Quezon.

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