IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Zamboanga Peninsula on Tuesday announced the release of 140 critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle hatchlings on Pandilusan Island in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay.
DENR personnel released the hatchlings on Sunday as part of an ongoing effort to protect the region’s marine biodiversity.
The conservation effort began after a female hawksbill turtle laid eggs at a nesting site on the island. Environment officials transferred the eggs to a protected hatchery to safeguard the developing hatchlings, improve their chances of survival and ensure their safe emergence before releasing them into the sea.
The release operation was led by Forester John Kaisan Alkuino, head of the Biodiversity Conservation Unit of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO)-Imelda, in coordination with the municipal government of Payao, represented by Daryll Tubat, and Pandilusan Island caretaker Armando Amorin.
CENRO-Imelda chief Lawyer Kim Villarual, the Payao municipal government, the Philippine Army’s 106th Infantry Battalion, the Philippine Coast Guard Sub-Station in Payao, and island caretakers participated in the initiative.
Conservation organizations listed Hawksbill sea turtles as critically endangered because of habitat loss, marine pollution, illegal wildlife trade, and poaching, making conservation efforts such as hatchling protection and release essential to the species’ survival, the DENR said.
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