We’re all encouraged to save endangered species but it’s not every day you get to meet one that needs immediate help.
That’s what happened to a Filipino diving instructor and four Hong Kong tourists when they found a pawikan (sea turtle) with a nylon string wrapped around its neck in Busuanga, Palawan. Omar Linsangan, the instructor, shared the incident on Facebook yesterday.
“While on Dugong [dive center] watching trip with Hong Kong divers team, Cheuk Fung Keung, Claudia Luk, Cheuk wai Keung & Kai Lung Ng. We found TURLE (sic) tangled in a nylon maybe trying to FREE himself hardly but end up to tying His neck. “THANK GOD” we able to HELP this CREATURE and let him swim FREELY again,” his caption reads.
https://www.facebook.com/omar.linsangan/posts/10155417629490677
In the video he posted, you can see how they held the turtle down to keep it from swimming away and cut the nylon string wrapped around its neck using scissors. It took several tries to remove the string as it was wrapped multiple times but the group was eventually able to remove it.
The pawikan is an endangered species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and both the government and non-government organizations have launched campaigns to help protect them.
During a rescue and release operation by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Tacloban last month, the government agency called out to people to help save the sea turtles.
“We are appealing to the public especially those living in the coastal areas to report to the nearest DENR office any sightings of sea turtles in their areas or turn over to authorities if caught or trapped in fish nets or cages or any device at sea,” Eugenia N. Bautista, chief of the Conservation and Development Division in DENR-8 told Manila Bulletin.
Only about 1 in every 1,000 sea turtles in the whole world reach adulthood. According to the DENR, the decrease in pawikans is brought by both natural and man-made causes.
Climate change causes coastal erosion and a rise in sea levels, which decreases the number of nesting sites for the sea turtles. Turtle eggs are also prone to being poached and sold by fishermen.
Just in November, a pawikan was found dead with a spear gun wound on its neck in Moalboal, Cebu.
The decline in sea turtles have a direct effect on the ecosystem and could lead to a decline in other sea creatures like fish, crabs, and shrimps. So although Linsangan and the four tourists only saved one pawikan, it could still make a lot of difference.
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