Sea Turtles in the
Philippines
&
Sanctuary for Sea
Turtles and Other
Endangered Philippine
Animal Species
By
Jakub Bednář, Boris Baričič, Štefan Ondrovič
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Species of Sea Turtles, naturally occuring around Philippines
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Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)
Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Species of Sea Turtles, laying eggs in the Philippine Islands
1. Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
2. Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
3. Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Green and Hawksbill turtles nest throughout the Philippines year round, while Olive Ridley turtles
nest particularly from August to September. Remaining two species, ie. Caretta caretta and
Dermochelys coriacea only forage in Philippine waters.
Benefits of Sea Turtles
According to Oceana, marine turtles help keep our oceans healthy by providing numerous
benefits:
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Green sea turtles feed on sea grass which in turn keeps sea grass beds productive.
Hawksbills remove sponges, thus allowing reef-building corals to grow and helping
other marine species feed on sponges.
Leatherbacks and Loggerheads consume jellyfish, which help protect fish species. A
decrease in the jellyfish population helps increase fish stocks.
Female sea turtles provide nutrients to tropical or nesting beaches where they lay
their eggs.
Sea turtles provide a food source for fish and shrimp through epibionts that live on
their shells.
Sea turtles serve as refuge for fish and seabirds as they navigate the ocean. In fact,
some seabirds perch on the back of turtles to protect themselves from predators.
Sea turtles help maintain diversity in the world’s oceans by transporting underwater
organisms such as plants and crustaceans.
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Sea Turtles in Danger
Aside from exploitation, significant threats to sea turtles include pollution and trash;
mortality due to fishing line and shrimp trawls; and loss of habitat. If the population of sea
turtles continue to decline, Philippine marine ecosystem will suffer.
Marine turtles are also threatened by coastal development and fisheries practices, including
foreign fishers (coming on speedboats mainly from China) poaching and targeting marine
turtles within Philippine waters. Developmental and foraging habitats of marine turtles are
being proposed for declaration as Critical Habitats pursuant to Republic Act 9147 or the
Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001. Fishery impact on marine
turtles is also a major issue. From a perception survey conducted by the DA-BFAR, gillnet,
fish corral and set net are the fishing gears that are most likely to catch marine turtles (DABFAR, 2007). Actual reports gathered by the PAWB-PCP throughout the country through its
tagging program reveal that fish corral, gillnet and hook and line are the fishing gears that
capture most turtles.
The Sulu Sea is a favorite poaching area of foreign fishers targeting marine turtles. In the last
decade, over a thousand foreigners (over 600 are Chinese) have been arrested and charged
for poaching in the waters of Palawan alone (WWF-Philippines, 2008). Recent reports show a
substantial number of green turtles killed by 19 Chinese fishers in TIWS in September 2007
and 101 hawksbill turtles killed by 13 Vietnamese fishers in Linapacan, Palawan in August
2008. This practice has generated national and international attention and has increased
vigilance in law enforcement in these areas.
Turtle Hunting = Turtling
Turtling has been a part of human culture since as far back as 5000 B.C., where sea turtles
such as the Eretmochelys imbricata were eaten as delicacies in countries such as China.
While consumption and hunting of turtles is less common than it was in the time of our
ancestors, this practice is still a part of communities throughout the globe, whether done
legally or illegally.
Capturing turtles as a byproduct of fishing has been recognized as a severe threat to turtle
populations. It has been acknowledged that fishing nets are the most devastating of fishing
equipment to turtles, whether turtles are hunted intentionally or not.
Green Sea Turtle Statistics Against Reality
As current records states, Chelonida mydas in the Philippines have laid approx. 1.44 million
eggs in the year 2011 on Baguan Island, one of nine islands, which make turtle sanctuary in
Tawi-Tawi province, south of Mindanao. However, only 1% of hatched baby sea turtles can
survive until adulthood. This means, that one and half milllion eggs produce over ten
thousand adult turtles. Not all of them are able to reproduce and what is much worse, many
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of these adult turtles are captured by illegal fishermen, when they come to laid their eggs
back to the places, where they have hatched years ago. Imagine that fishermen boat can
capture much more than 100 adult turtles during one expedition into Philippine waters. So,
even if statistical numbers show increase in Green Sea Turtle population, the reality is a lot
different and in fact nobody knows, how many adult sea turtles are able to succesfully
reproduce and lay their eggs. Currently, scientists recognize no more than 90.000 adult
nesting females for Green Sea Turtle only as worldwide population!
All these statistics come from protected places (eg. Tawi-Tawi province), which are
considered to be safe for sea turtles. However, there are lot sof other islands, which marine
turtles use for egg-laying. We have personally visited some of these islands and talked to
native people, living there for decades. As we were told, the number of females, coming to
lay their eggs decreases every year. It is natural, since Philippine government can´t protect
all the places and army troops have only limited sources to hunt for illegal fishermen boats,
which come on a regular basis to capture and kill adult turtles.
Existing projects and sanctuaries helping to save sea turtles recognize great success
nowadays and many baby turtles are able to reach the sea level shortly after they hatch out
from their eggs. However, these baby turtles come back as adults only after 20 years or so.
Now, imagine what have happened to those thousands of turtles, which have hatched
decades ago. They are still disappearing from the planet, mainly because illegal hunting.
Therefore, we believe, that succesfull project for sea turtle conservation will not only help to
hatch turtle eggs and educate native people, but also help to keep the current population of
adult turtles.
What Can We Do to Save Sea Turtles?
One of very important and alarming facts is, that Philippine government and existing
sanctuaries for marine turtles have only limited sources to protect adult sea turtles from
being captured by foreign fishermen. Therefore, we must help the government as much as
possible, so as together we are able to stop illegal turtling in Philippine waters.
Also it is very important to closely work with native Philippine people and teach them, how
sea turtles involves the marine and therefore human being. Only if native people
understand, how important sea turtles are, they might not consume as many sea turtle eggs,
as they currently do.
Protection of nesting places is still not the best, there are still many areas left, which needs
to be made safe for sea turtles to come.
Last, but not least, new projects to safe sea turtles shall be made, so as general public have
enough information. Many companies worldwide can join such programs, donate
government and help local people and existing sanctuaries to be able to do all is needed.
Our project and marine turtle sanctuary would therefore focuse on those above mentioned
threads.
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Threads in Details
THREAD No. 1.
Egg Harvesting for Human Consumption and Killing Nesting Females
As Sea Turtle Conservancy states, although sea turtles have spiritual or mythological
importance in many cultures around the world, this has not prevented humans from
consuming their eggs or meat. In many costal communities, especially in Asia, sea turtles are
considered a food source. During the nesting season, hunters comb the beaches at night
looking for nesting females. Often, they will wait until the female has deposited her eggs to
kill her. Then, they take both the eggs and meat. Until the 1970s when sea turtles were
internationally recognized as endangered, their meat was also used to prepare turtle soup considered a speciality by foreign people. Additionally, people may use other parts of the
turtle for products, including the oil, cartilage, skin and shell.
The most commonly eaten sea turtle meat comes from the Green Sea Turtle. However,
Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, and occasionally Eretmochelys imbricata and
Dermochelys coriacea are also consumed by humans.
In order to help combat the threat posed by human consumption, governments and
conservationists have developed and tested several methods, including:
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Education;
Patrolling nesting beaches
Relocating eggs to hatcheries
Ecotourism based on sea turtles
Government-imposed limits on consumption
The Solution in Practise
We would like to focuse mainly on education (which goes hand to hand with ecotourism),
patrolling nesting sites and possibly relocating eggs to hatchery from certain islands.
Naturally, by building suitable background for the sanctuary in an interesting are for tourists
(El Nido), we will also influence the ecotourism based on marine turtles.
El Nido is one of the destinations in Palawan, which is heavily visited by tourists. If our
sanctuary has the opportunity to build it´s background in such a location, we will be able to
educate not only interested scientists, veterinary students and local people, but we also
influence the meaning of general public a lot. Therefore, we can see a great potential in
building the sanctuary headquarters directly in El Nido, since we become visible, well known
and the problem concerning marine turtle conservation won´t remain hidden.
Patrolling nesting sites seems to be difficult, however, our team can easily arrange patrols on
less known islands, where the female turtles use to lay their eggs, since we have already very
good relationship with various native people, who live on the important islands and also
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barrangay captains, who can involve the meaning of local people a lot. We believe, that
succesfull patrolling of nesting sites is not possible without the help of local people and we
have great success in talking to them. Many local people already understand the importance
of sea turtle conservancy and are more than willing to help us to partol the nesting places.
An interesting fact is, that even if local people are used to consume the sea turtle eggs on a
regular basis (they are part of the diet for the people living near the seaside), they
understand well the importance of leaving part of the clutch in the nesting hole. As we have
witnessed, approx. 50% from the total eggs laid remain unattended and can therefore hatch,
even if the local people find the direct nesting place. However, such a situation is not the
same on all the less known islands and it might be therefore needed to take some egg
clutches and remove them to hatcheries, where sea turtle eggs can hatch in controlled
environment and without any danger.
Hatcheries for sea turtle eggs are naturally not so good as natural environment, however, we
believe that it is a great chance for those clutches, which are laid on islands, where local
people still don´t understand the importance of hatching as many baby turtles, as possible.
Such a hatchery is therefore going to be an important part of our sanctuary background.
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Thread No. 2:
Adult Specimen Capture for Illegal Asian Market
Hawksbill Sea Turtles, recognized for their beautiful gold and brown shells, have been
hunted for centuries to create jewelry and other luxury items. As a result, these turtles are
now listed as critically endangered. According to recent studies, scientists estimate that
Hawksbill populations have declined by 90 percent during the past 100 years. To improve
their survival outlook, an international agreement signed by 173 governments, known as
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora), declared the trade of these shells illegal. However, the demand for shells continues
today on the black market, especially in Japan. In Japan, the use of bekko (the Japanese word
for hawksbill shell) dates back more than 300 years. Even today, bekko combs remain an
important part of the traditional Japanese wedding dress. This cultural importance
contributed significantly to the international trade in bekko and resulted in the sharp decline
that occurred in the 20th century.
The Solution in Practise
There is only one possible solution to protect adult marine turtles from being captured for
illegal market. Philippine adult sea turtle populations are mainly catched by Chinese hunters,
coming on a regular basis on fishermen boats. The hunters know the localities very well and
can therefore catch a lot of turtles during the right season. It´s true, that Philippine army
(marine troops) patrol the localities and try to stop illegal turtling by arresting mainly
Chinese fishermen, however, Philippine army has only limited device and resources. In
practise it means, that illegal fishermen use very fast speedboats and can threfore easily
escape into international water areas. Philippine army officers also can´t patrol all the areas
on a regular basis, since they don´t have enough gasoline for their army boats. We have
witnessed all these facts personally to be able to find a solution.
Since we understand, that it is very important to protect the current population of adult
marine turtles from being captured by fishermen, our sanctuary will also help Philippine
government by means of device donation and also money sponzorship. We have already
donated Philippine army with a very fast speedboat in the year 2010. The speedboat has
helped a lot already and Philippine army officers now have much better option, how to
arrest illegal fishermen and turtle hunters.
Our sanctuary would therefore continue in cooperation with Philippine army, since we
already know, that other device have to purchased and that the Philippine army also needs
funds to operate in certain areas. Therefore, we will not only focus on female turtles laying
their eggs, patrolling the nesting sites and removing the eggs into hatcheries, but we will also
provide the army troops with other usable device, such as more speedboats, hovercraft etc.
and also provide them with enough gasoline.
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Thread No. 3:
Lack of Information about Sea Turtles
Today, lack of information about sea turtles leads many tourists to unwittingly support the
international trade in these endangered species. Buying, selling or importing any sea turtle
products within the United States, as in many countries around the world, is strictly
prohibited by law, but turtle shell jewelry and souvenirs are still the most frequent
contraband items seized by customs officials from tourists returning from the Asian
countries. While illegal sea turtle trade is primarily based on Hawksbills, other sea turtle may
be killed for their skin to make leather goods. Beauty products are also illegal, if they contain
sea turtle oil.
Not only lack of information affecting illegal trade on sea turtles and sea turtle products, but
also lack of information about marine turtle species in general is a common problem.
Especially people living in Europe, where they don´t have many possibilities to come in touch
with these animal species don´t know much about sea turtle crisis. A lot of individuals, as
well as private companies would be more than happy to help to save sea turtles and other
endangered animals, however, they don´t know how to do this.
The Solution in Practise
Our sanctuary is going to establish a tourist-friendly background in El Nido, Palawan. Such a
facility will naturally consists of turtle egg hatchery, veterinary background for adult turtles
harmed by boat propellers or sick turtles, training room for biology students etc.
However, our sanctuary will be also open for general public, since El Nido is very interesting
destination for tourists from all over the world. We believe that we can provide as many
information as possible for all the interested people and if we show them the life of sea
turtles in a suitable way, we will help to influence the meaning of general public.
Our sanctuary is going to be closely connected with a breeding facility for crocodiles and
other endangered animals (eg. Crocodylus mindorensis) in the Slovak republic. Because of
that, we can easily promote our projects and inform also individual people and private
companies in Europe. Many of these people wouldn´t normally visit Philippines, but they can
easily monitor our running acitivities thanks to the connection of those two facilities, one
having it´s background in the Philippines, the second in the Slovak republic.
Students of all ages, as well as families, biologists etc. will have a possibility to visit our
breeding facility for crocodiles near Bratislava and can therefore join our projects and get
enough information about sea turtle crisis.
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The Sea Turtle Sanctuary and It´s Activities in Details
As desribed above, sea turtles (not only in the Philippines) need help of various independent
sanctuaries, volunteers and also the governments.
We have decided to joint he group of interested people and want therefore establish a
sanctuary with great background in El Nido, Palawan, with several branches arend Philippine
islands. The sanctuary will be closely connected with a crocodile breeding farm in the Slovak
republic.
As for Philippine sanctuary for sea turtles and other endangered Philippine animal species,
mainly the following shall be arranged:
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Sanctuary headquarters in El Nido, Palawan
Suitable background for volunteers and local people around the Philippine turtle
islands
Turtle egg hatchery, baby turtle raising areas
Isolated veterinary room and outdoor enclosures for sick or injured turtles
Training rooms connected to the main background, where biologists, veterinary
students and also interested individuals can participace on our project and activities
Breeding areas for other Philippine animal species, which are highly endangered
Our idea of building the sanctuary in a tourist-friendly place is very important, since we
believe, that our goals can be achieved more easily, if general public have enough
information about our activities. Naturally, not all the places will be available for Viking,
since we also have to respect what exactly the sea turtles need. Therefore, mainly turtle
hatchery and isolated veterinary rooms won´t be available for every visitor.
We have already started communications with Philippine government and DENR, since the
turtle sanctuary can only exist, if we have enough support from the people in charge. The
sanctuary will be completely self-sufficient, since many European private companies have
already promised their participation in our project.
Our sanctuary with it´s headquarters and main tourist area in El Nido would also consists of
other smaller backgrounds on various Philippine islands, eg. Seacam Island near of Balabac
etc. These small islands are not yet as protected and safe for sea turtles, however, Philippine
army already operates there and we want to focus on these areas, instead of focusing on
larger turtle islands, where succesfull projects are already running. Local people living there
are more than willing to help us to save sea turtles, as they understand the importance of
marine life.
Thanks to the cooperation with DENR and some government-owned facilities for wild
Philippine animal species we are also going to establish breeding programms for other
endangered animals, which will be kept and bred in El Nido. We will release such animals,
bred under controlled conditions in El Nido back to the wild nature, which means that other
projects for various reptile and mammal Philippine species are going to start.
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Other Philippine Endangered Animal Species Suitable for Breeding Projects
Dinagat Island Cloud Rat (Crateromys australis)
A species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Philippines. Its natural habitat is
subtropical or tropical dry forests. The main threat is habitat loss caused by deforestation
and chromite mining. It was long known only by the holotype collected by Dioscoro S. Rabor
in 1975 until it was rediscovered and filmed by Czech zoologist Milada Řeháková and her
husband in January 2012. It is not bred by any zoo in the world.
Other species of genus Crateromys are also suitable for breeding projects in El Nido, as these
large rodents are slowly vanishing from the wild Philippine nature. Those species are eg.
Crateromys schadenbergi, Crateromys heaneyi, but also Phloeomys pallidus and P. cummingi.
Breeding groups of these rodents can be also kept and displayed in our sanctuary in El Nido,
so as people can admire the animals and learn more about their behaviour.
Monitor Lizard (Varanus bitatawa)
A newly discovered monitor species, one of only three frugivorous monitor species in the
world. I tis found only on the island of Luzon, the scientists estimate that the population of
this species in the wild nature is very small. Therefore, breeding projects should start as
soon, as possible.
Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis)
One of the most endangered crocodile species in the world. Philippine government runs
several projects to save this species, however, they suffer from lack of funds and the projects
are therefore not succesfull. Our sanctuary will also start a breeding project in Europe, so as
we can easily cooperate with zoological gardens worldwide.
Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta), Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia) are
only other examples of animal species, which we may help by building our sanctuary in El
Nido. Succesfull breeding projects directly in the Philippines are much better, than moving
the animals into zoos – therefore, we can maintain populations from wild nature in the
Philippines, release them back to the nature and also provide zoological gardens with
suitable breeding pairs, which are born/hatched in our El Nido sanctuary for wild Philippine
animals and marine turtles.
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