84 newly-hatched pawikan released in Tayabas Bay

BATANGAS, Philippines - Residents of Barangay [vilage] Tikalan in San Juan town here had set loose some 84 pawikan hatchlings back to their habitat at the Tayabas Bay on Wednesday. The turtles, identified as Olive ridley specie, hatched from their eggs about 4 a.m. and were released to the sea at about 5 p.m. on that day. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Bantay Dagat member and fisherman Dante Mendoza said it took the turtles at least 60 days to hatch from their eggs and come off the sand. "When we started taking care of the pawikan three years ago, the people really enjoyed the benefits from it. We can now catch up to 10 kilos of fish daily unlike before where we only catch 2-3 kilos," he added. Environmental group Mother Earth led the release of turtles, participated by volunteers such as students and teachers of the Tikalan Elementary School and resident doctors of the Philippine General Hospital. Ramon Flores, organizer of Mother Earth's Pawikan Pauwiin sa Karagatan Project, said it is important to conserve the pawikan because the said specie helps balance marine life since some of its species feed on jellyfish, algae and sea grass beds. "When there's plenty of jellyfish there would be less fish and it will be less desirable to swim in the sea," Flores said. In an interview, he said that there are six remaining pawikan nests in San Juan town, having 500 eggs, which are expected to hatch before the end of February. Three of the country's five species of pawikan can be found in San Juan and these are hawksbill turtle, green turtle and olive ridley. All three species are listed under Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species. This means that the "international commercial trade of these species are prohibited" and only "limited exchanges for scientific purposes are allowed." The Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, or RA 9147, prohibits the hunting, selling and killing, as well as collecting of the eggs of endangered species like pawikan. Violators of the law may be dealt with fines ranging from P100,000 to P1 million or 6 to 12 years imprisonment, depending on the court's discretion. - GMANews.TV