Green sea turtle hatchlings crawled their way back home to the vast ocean in the province of Antique.
A total of 84 green sea turtle hatchlings were released by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) Culasi at Brgy. San Francisco Norte, Tibiao, Antique, in late June, said a news release from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6.
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is considered an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is on its Red List.
The species is carnivorous from hatchling until juvenile stage, and shift to a herbivorous diet as their serrated jaws adapts for most vegetarian diet of sea grasses and algae.
Ninety-nine green sea turtle eggs were found by a fisherman the night before its release and immediately reported to their local government unit. Thirteen of the eggs remained unhatched while two were found dead during the release.
The province of Antique has a strong implementation of the Turtle Conservation Program, with the local folks actively support the protection and conservation of the marine animals.
The marine reptiles migrate thousands of miles over their lifetime to feed, breed and lay eggs. They have an internal global positioning system using the Earth’s magnetic field, pinpointing specific coastlines based on their magnetic signature.
Female turtles were able to return to the exact place where they were born to lay their eggs.
“These endangered sea creatures thrive in warmer temperatures of the waters in Antique to lay their eggs. More sightings of sea turtle hatch also indicate a healthy ocean ecosystem. We are thankful to the fishermen, our partners and guardians of the environment, in saving our marine wildlife species,” said DENR Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran.
Enhanced biodiversity conservation is among the top priority of Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.