By June Blanco
Office of the Governor Two fishermen from Mabini, Bohol got the surprise of their lives Monday when one of the hooks of their palangre fishing line caught a green turtle by the nape.
Victoriano Maca, 60, and Ramon Ayag, 46, both of Barangay Tangkigan, Mabini were resigned to just let the turtle let off its steam and lift it into their paddle boat when it became weak. The chance came soon enough when the turtle swam belly up.
“We caught it by its flippers and immediately paddled to shore,†Maca said in Visayan.
Their “catch†brought curious onlookers many of whom suggested to butcher and cook it. Turtle meat can be a delicacy to some. Maca’s reply was a vehement “No!â€
Instead, through the barangay officials, he informed Mayor Stephen Rances and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) about the catch.
As Gov. Erico Aumentado was scheduled to visit Mabini the following day to inaugurate a barangay waterworks system, Rances asked him to also release the turtle to the sea afterwards.
After lunch, Aumentado, Rances, Col. Jesse Dellosa and Lt. Col. Nestor Porlucas, commanding officers of the 302nd Infantry Brigade and 79th Infantry Battalion respectively, along with Vice Mayor Esther Tabigue, town councilors and other local officials boarded the Coastal Law Enforcement Council (CLEC) patrol boat at the Baybayon fishermen’s wharf.
On the patrol boat, Forester Rey Besinga, chief of the Protected Area Wildlife Services (PAWS) and Jesus Lagura, chief of the Coastal Marine Management Services (CMMS) both of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office here took turns apprising the Aumentado-led group that the green turtle was female. The two rows of plastron on its underside were depressed, and it had a short tail, they explained.
Maca also said the turtle could have been going to shore to lay eggs. To note, turtles dig in the sand to lay eggs by the hundreds, and cover them afterwards. If not found by predators including man, the eggs hatch.
The hatchlings then crawl down the shore to the sea where, unless eaten by more predators, they grow to adults to repeat the cycle.
Its carapace measured 30 inches by 27 inches and weighed around 70 kilos. A dent on its lower right carapace indicated that the turtle was already captured and released before.
After 20 minutes of going out towards the Mindanao Sea and off the Naasog Cliffs of Baybayon, Aumentado and the fishermen released it. They chose Naasog Cliffs where the sea was deep to ensure that the turtle could not entangle itself on a fish corral.
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Topic: Rare Green Turtle caught in Mabini, Bohol (Read 1241 times)