After the birds, here come the sea turtles

Three critically endangered species of turtle were rescued in Western Visayas amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The turtle rescues followed the rescue of owls and Brahminy kites spotted in urban areas that were emptied with people amid the community quarantine or lockdown.

In Aklan, a critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle was rescued after it got trapped in the fish cage of Junifer Inclocido. The sea turtle weighed 18 pounds with a carapace (shell) length of 43 centimeters and width of 45 centimeters.

A team from Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Aklan tagged the sea turtle’s flipper for identification purposes. It was released back to the ocean by the team together with members of Aklan Integrated Reforestation Project (AIR-Pro) at Brgy. Jawili, Tangalan, Aklan.

Some 20 kilometers away, a male Green sea turtle was also rescued from the fish cage of Joseph Francisco, Sr. and Mark Joseph Pajarito, at Brgy. Poblacion, Nabas, Aklan.

The endangered sea turtle weighed 30 pounds with a carapace length of 20 inches and a width 16 inches. It was tagged properly and released back to the ocean.

An Olive ridley sea turtle was also rescued from a fish cage at Brgy. Pasil, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental.

The fishermen told Environment Management Specialist II (EMS II) Jojo Vargas that it was the first sea turtle trapped in their fish cage. It’s carapace was estimated at 2.5 feet long and 1.5 feet wide. It was immediately released back to the ocean.

The Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) is listed as Critically Endangered (CR), the Green sea (Chelonia mydas) as Endangered (EN) and the Olive ridley  (Lepidochelys olivacea) as Vulnerable (VU) under the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (DENR-6)