“Overall from the 25 sea turtles that we released and the 23 that were turned over to Caub Island, we have recorded a total of 48 from March to November in 2020 amid the travel and quarantine restrictions brought by the pandemic,” said Gina M. Barquilla, focal person of Bantay Dagat and the officer in charge of Menro in Del Carmen. “This is the first time that we have recorded this many rescued and released sea turtles in more than two decades or maybe even more since before that we don’t have any record. We believe that this is a result of the Covid-19 restrictions as it has kept humans and harmful waste off beaches,” said Barquilla. Data from the Menro revealed that most of the turtles that were rescued were trapped on the indigenous fish traps known as “bongsud” along the waterways connecting the town's vast mangrove forest to the open ocean. The Menro report added that the rescued and released turtles varied in size and species. “It amazing because the turtles that we rescued were the Green Sea Turtle and the critically endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtles and they have different sizes, suggesting that juveniles to adult sea turtles thrive within our waters,” said Barquilla.
Ocean healing while on lockdown
Del Carmen Vice Mayor Alfredo Matugas Coro II who has spearheaded the town's environmental conservation and protection campaign pointed out that the phenomenon is attributed to the ocean healing itself. “With the travel restrictions, with fewer people in the ocean, we’ve given our ecosystem a time to breathe, to heal, a moment to allow nature to recover by itself,” said Coro. “It’s more like a vacation leave, a time for the waters and its flora and fauna to heal,” Coro added. Coro explained that with the efforts and partnership of the local government and the different non-government organizations working for the protection and conservation of the town's rich ecosystem, nature was given a chance to slowly recuperate. In recognition of the towns environmental and conservation efforts, the town of Del Carmen was awarded the Best Mangrove Award in the Philippines by Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Support Network in November 2019, showcasing the town’s mangrove forest which is considered as the largest contiguous mangrove stand in the Philippines covering 4,871 hectares with 40 out of 73 mangrove species worldwide found in Del Carmen. During the height of the pandemic, in September 2020, the town was Caraga Region’s grand winner in the Malinis and Masaganang Karagatan (MMK) program of the Department of Agriculture -Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources which recognizes the most outstanding coastal communities across the archipelago. “Our dedication towards environmental conservation and protection has bared fruits because we understand that the different species play a vital role in the ecosystem,” said Coro.Vital role of education drive
Wendie E. Goña, Program Manager of Sentro para sa Ikauunlad ng Katutubong Agham at Teknolohiya, Inc. (Sikat) one of the environmental organizations working in Siargao Island for sustainable marine management since 2010 expressed that education campaign and creating people’s organizations played a vital role in the campaign towards the protection of sea turtles and other marine species in the area.
“Together with the LGU, Sikat has been in the forefront in our campaign towards sustainable ecosystem management, from the protection of the mangrove and helping people find alternative livelihood towards our campaign in illegal fishing, the efforts pushed towards education campaign in informing the people was not an easy task and took years but it did pay off,” said Goña. Goña acknowledged that swaying the people away from old practices was a daunting task as the people on the island were used to eating sea turtles as delicacies. “It was hard and there were times that we were still able to receive reports of sea turtles being offered or sold in other nearby towns. We continue to monitor such reports and push on with our campaigns even though it was harder when we have so many restrictions in our mobility,” said Goña. In July 2020, Sikat tagged and turned over to the Menro of Del Carmen, three green sea turtles, and one hawksbill sea turtle for release back into the wild. Julius Guirjen, senior program implementation manager of RARE Philippines, one of the nonprofit environmental organizations with a marine ecosystem management project in Siargao Island pointed out that the recent increase in sea turtle activity is a huge indication of how healthy the marine ecosystem is along the municipal waters of Del Carmen. Guirjen pointed out that sea turtles are considered as indicator species, having more than 40 recorded sea turtles rescued in the past few months is a really good sign that marine life is thriving in these areas. “It simply means if you have sufficient numbers of sea turtles in the ocean it could be that food is abundant, the habitat is conducive for them to live if it’s peaceful, there’s less disturbance, (they should live at that place),” he said. Guirjen added that even though the number of sea turtles reported in Del Carmen town is unprecedented, there are also reports of sea turtles released in other parts of Siargao Island, which are in the towns of Burgos and General Luna. “I think it’s not only marine turtles, but there were also several sightings of marine mammals here in Siargao, dolphins, in particular, but there are also videos posted on social media of bottlenose dolphins,” he added.
