A DEAD female Hawksbill sea turtle with a tracking device and Taiwan metal tags was found dead at the waters off Barangay Masaling in Cauayan town yesterday morning, June 26.
Mavee Ponciano, forest technician II of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro)–Kabankalan, told SunStar Bacolod that a fisherman at Sitio Matab-ang discovered the sea turtle trapped in his “bubo” or squid cage at around 7 a.m.
Upon receiving such report from the personnel of the Municipal Government of Cauayan, a team from Cenro-Kabankalan responded and inspected the marine animal.
The sea turtle weighs about 15 kilograms, 83 centimeters in length and 47 centimeters in width.
Ponciano said the tracking device attached on its carapace contains contact number and email address.
Two metal or Inconel tags with serial numbers TW5153 and TW5151 were also found in both hind flippers of the animal.
“Through the serial numbers on the tags, particularly the TW initials, we were able to identify that the sea turtle came from Taiwan,” she said, adding that the animal possibly died due to air deprivation.
Sea turtles, normally, dive into the water for four to five minutes and then surface for at least three seconds to breathe.
Based on the inspection conducted, the body of the dead sea turtle looks bluish, which according to Ponciano, an indication of air deprivation.
“There is no indication that the sea turtle was mistreated as there were no injuries found in any part of its body,” she said, adding that the animal was not able to escape from being trapped due to the small entry of the cage.
The conservation section of Cenro–Kabankalan has ordered to bury the sea turtle to prevent it from creating a foul odor.
They, however, said they detached the tracking device and metal tags from the sea turtle for further confirmation.
Ponciano said they received reports that the animal was previously featured on National Geographic, but still subject to validation.
Possibly, it is also being used for research purposes as the tracking device contains “Sea Mammal Research Unit” label.
“Tagging is actually conducted for rescued animals. In the Philippines, there should only one tag unlike in this case,” Ponciano said.
(Critically endangered)
For his part, Dave Albao, executive director of Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc., a non-government organization which also works on sea turtles and manages the wildlife sanctuary of Danjugan Island, said Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered specie, meaning it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
“This is why it is important that these sea turtles are monitored and protected. Their absence can cause or signal drastic changes in the marine environment,” Albao said.
The dead Hawksbill in Cauayan had a tracking device or transmitter attached to its carapace. It must be being tracked through satellite telemetry, part of an ongoing scientific effort to understand the migration behavior of their species, among many other data, Albao said, adding “this information can help us understand more how we could ensure their populations do not decrease any further.”
"There are also scientific studies and existing technologies on turtle-friendly fishing gear, which we hope gets more discussion and traction in Philippine fisheries," he added.