03/23/2009 -

It caused damage to the fisherman’s net. It got caught in the gill net laid by fisher Remachi “Amay” de Mateo in an area close to the Pandong Bato Marine Sanctuary in Barangay Puente, Carmen, Cebu. Aware that most sea turtle species are endangered, the fisherman cut parts of the gill net to free his surprise visitor. Counting the turtle among the edibles in his net that day, March 13, 2009, never crossed Amay’s mind. He untangled the creature, whose carapace measured 43 cm wide and 45 cm long, releasing at the same time, his day’s catch.

Amay didn’t mind. He turned the lumbering animal over to the town’s Municipal Agriculturist who then alerted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’s (DENR) Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Carmen. Amay was quite happy, as were the members of the municipality’s Coastal Resource Management Technical Working Group (CRM-TWG) and the CENRO, to see the gentle creature in their fishing grounds. To them, who have been working on the town’s coastal resource management program, attempting to rehabilitate damaged ecosystems, the turtle represented a victory of sorts. It was an indicator that life was coming back to Carmen’s municipal waters, part of the ecologically significant Camotes Sea. It is a positive signal that biodiversity is slowly being restored in their sea.

The CRM-TWG facilitated the establishment of the Pandong Bato Marine Sanctuary in 1999. They also installed other marine protected areas in Carmen in an effort to reverse the effects of overfishing and destructive fishing that were prevalent in their area at that time. The implementation of the town’s CRM program is assisted by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Philippine Environmental Governance Project Phase 2 (EcoGov2). It was through the series of consultations and workshops that Amay learned about the importance of protecting marine species. It was also through his involvement in the municipality’s CRM program that he started to appreciate the value of participating in rehabilitation activities.

EcoGov continues to assist the municipality in its CRM initiatives. The project is currently guiding the local government unit in updating and refining its ten-year Integrated CRM Plan which includes a coastal zoning scheme. The CRM-TWG was, in fact, in conference preparing for a municipality-wide presentation of the revised CRM Plan, when they were informed of Amay’s encounter with the turtle.

CENRO personnel attached a tag on the turtle, which they identified as a green sea turtle, and released the animal in impromptu ceremonies held later that day at the Batong Diyut Marine Sanctuary in adjacent Barangay Luyang. The CRM advocates of Carmen all wore big smiles — the members of the CRM-TWG fish wardens, barangay officials, residents, and Amay — grateful to do another good turn for their generous sea — as they slowly set their unusual visitor on his swim to freedom.

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