SAN JOSE, Antique – Hatchlings of the endangered green sea turtles were released to their habitat in the coastal area of Barangay San Francisco, Tibiao, Antique on June 27.
Genevieve Heramis of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Culasi town that covers Tibiao said the hatchlings were discovered by a fisherman from the said barangay on June 26 around 20 meters away from the sea.
“Fisherman Melchor Dalmacio, who is a resident of Barangay San Francisco, accidentally discovered the hatchlings inside a hole along the coastal area,” she said.
The discovery was immediately reported to their office and on Sunday the hatchlings were released.
Heramis added that aside from the 86 hatchlings, there were 15 other eggs found to be spoiled or unhatched.
“The green sea turtle is commonly spotted by the Tibiao coastal folks for they are attracted to sea grasses thriving in the area,” she said.
The marine animal feeds on the plant.
Heramis urged coastal residents that should they again spot green sea turtle hatchlings they have to immediately report to the CENRO for the protection of the marine animals.
“We surround the area where the eggs or the hatchlings are found with a plastic net so that they could be protected until they could be safely released to sea,” she said.
“We put metal tags on the adult green sea turtles so that whenever they would be found in other countries they would know it came from our country,” she added. (PNA)
