ILOILO CITY – For the month of August, two endangered turtles were rescued by fisherfolks and returned back to the wild off the coastal towns in Iloilo and Guimaras provinces.
Personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provided technical assistance after local fisherfolks found the sea turtles.
It was a fisherfolk in Dumangas town, Iloilo province who rescued a female green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) along the seashore of Sito Lacaran of Ermita village recently. The fisherfolk then reported finding the marine animal to DENR’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR CENRO) in neighboring Barotac Nuevo town.
The green sea turtle has a length of 84 centimeters (cms) and width of 63.5 cms and has an estimated weight of 100 kilograms (kgs). It was nursed back to health before it was released back at the Lapus-Lapus Fish Sanctuary, which is a proposed marine protected area.
The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) was rescued by fishermen off the coast of Buenavista town, Guimaras province.
The Hawksbill turtle was accidentally trapped inside a gill net and the fishermen took it ashore. They then reported to personnel of DENR’s Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation/Coastal Unit (PAMBCU) so the turtle can recuperate. It was later released back to the wild.