Young Ridley turtles released in Naic
Around 73 Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtles were released on the coast of Barangay Labac on Tuesday, January 16.
Roger Bilugan of Samahan ng Labac Pawikan Patroller and Jacinta Remulla led the release of the sea turtles to the waters of Barangay Labac and witnessed by the Cavite province media group.
The sea turtles came from a hatchling facility that has been in the practice of taking care of turtle eggs since December 2014.
Bilugan said it takes 60 days before a turtle egg hatches, and once the eggs are hatched, they immediately send the hatchlings to the sea late in the day to prevent them from being attacked by predators and enable them to reach the bottom of the sea.
“Before, our patrolling was not that intense, as time went on, we improved the care, until we even reached the neighboring barangay (villages) to take care of the turtle eggs. Every night, we, with 20 members patrollers, walk the shore of Labac to collect turtle eggs to put in the hatchery facility to take care of them until they hatch,” said Bilugan in an interview.
According to the wildlife conservation group World Wildlife Fund, almost all tortoise species are “endangered species” due to poaching and overexploitation.
Remulla, daughter of secretary of Justice Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, spoke that she is here to promote and protect, and ask for support from everyone to help us protect the environment and the sea turtles.
“[I] am here to invite many sponsors and people, who are environmentalists, to come and join us in supporting the Samahan ng Labac Pawikan Patroller, who are passionate about taking good care of our sea turtles,” said Remulla.
“Many do not even know that there is a nesting facility here in the town of Naic. Please feel free to contact the patrollers here in Labac and invite you in this amazing experience,” she added.
Bilugan revealed that their innovative activity involves tagging each turtle with a satellite monitor courtesy of San Miguel Corp. so that they can be monitored more