Recently, a male adult green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) was rescued in Nacpan Beach. The Nacpan Beach community has been wonderful in terms of sustainability and helping out with conservation. This rescue was no exception. As usual, collective efforts for locals, the Protected Area Office, and the El Nido Marine Turtle Conservation Network (particularly the Ten Knots Group and Sunmai Nacpan) came together to help a turtle that was brought in by local fisherman Victor Canopin, after he noticed the turtle kept swimming towards him that morning.
The first responders thought that the turtle was weak because of a boat strike as seen on the scar on the left fore flipper. However, upon close inspection, it was revealed that the wound is already on the healing stages.
The Mad Monkey Hostel group created a shallow pond while waiting for the response team. Upon arrival, Ten Knots Group’s Sustainability Officer, Jamie Dichaves, learned that this particular turtle had vomitted plastic on his way to shore. It was weak and could bare lift its head up and so in an effort to rehydrate him, the turtle was force-fed with a mixture of fish meal. Within an hour, the turtle showed signs of recuperating as he was able to move around more and breathe on its own. On the advice of Dr. Rizza Salinas from the Biodiversity Management Bureau, the turtle was kept overnight. Given the size and nature of the green sea turtle, he was moved to a bigger pond created by the team at Sunmai Bar. A second feeding was done later in the day before he was kept in the pond overnight. The goal was to get him to excrete any other foreign objects he may have consumed. Defecating is also a good sign as its one way to indicate health condition in the absence of more advanced equipment.
Prior to release, the El Nido Marine Turtle Conservation Network collected pertinent data on the marine turtle and then given tags. This turtle’s tags are PH1526J and PH1527J.
The El Nido Marine Turtle Conservation Network noted, “If you spot tagged turtles, take note of their tag codes and report to the DENR or your local environmental agency (for those outside the Philippines). You can also report sightings to the Archie Carr Centre for Sea Turtle Research. Read more information regarding tagging of turtles.”
Advocacy for banning single-use plastics
“Conservation certainly takes a collective effort; but individual actions also count. Minimizing or completely doing away with single-use plastics, and practicing proper waste management goes a long way. This turtle was lucky to have ended up in a caring community. Many others are not as lucky. We play a huge role in the continuity of life on earth. It is up to us when and how we will take the first steps,” El Nido Resorts Be Green.
