On Tue, Jan 3, fisherman Rodrigo Giguera spotted a green sea turtle, locally known as pawikan, in the waters off Barangay Balaring in Silay City, Negros Occidental.
“The fisherman turned over the turtle, which was 33 inches long and 25 inches wide, to the Bantay Dagat (Sea Watch) members who were apparently new volunteers. The men were apparently unaware of standard operating procedure in handling endangered animals,” reports Carla P. Gomez in Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The proper procedure would have been for them to turn over the turtle to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which would attach a metal tag on the turtle’s flipper. The tag would help scientists track the turtle’s migration pattern.
The report noted: “But the volunteers did not have a metal tag so they instead painted the words ‘Silay Bantay Dagat’ on the turtle’s carapace in yellow.”
Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya — community environment and natural resources officer — pointed out that “what the volunteers did is considered as a form of maltreatment, a violation of the Wildlife Conservation Act.”
In this case, were just reprimanded because they didn’t mean to harm the turtle. Of course, they are now required to attend an orientation seminar on the Wildlife Conservation Act.
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