BACOLOD CITY – A juvenile hawksbill sea turtle rescued after it accidentally swallowed a large fishing hook last month was released back to the sea in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, July 4. On June 7, a fisherman from Barangay Manta-angan, E.B. Magalona, caught the young sea turtle that was struggling because of a fishing hook in its mouth. Jojo Vargas of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) recalled that the hook was embedded in its throat and the turtle could not even open its mouth because of too much pain. MENRO personnel initially brought the sea turtle to the Municipal Veterinary Office (MVO) but the veterinarian was unavailable at that time. The MVO staff advised them to contact Dr. Froilan Juntilla, a private veterinarian based in the neighboring city of Victorias.
MENRO-designate Jojo Vargas, Dr. Froilan Juntilla, Rosendo Lopez of Department of Environment and Natural Resources-City Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-CENRO) Bago City, and MVO staff release the rescued sea turtle named ‘EcoT’ back to the sea in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental on Tuesday, July 4. (Photo courtesy of MENRO) Upon examining its situation, Juntilla decided to bring it to his clinic to remove the fishing hook from its mouth. They transferred the sea turtle to the Tomongtong Mangrove Eco-Trail in Barangay Tomongtong, E.B. Magalona, to wait for its safe release. Vargas said they named the sea turtle "EcoT," a play on the words "eco-trail." The staff of the eco-trail attended to the sea turtle every day, feeding it with puree made from fresh fish. “Dr. Froi not only performed an operation on the sea turtle, but he checked on its condition every week,” Vargas said.