As the world celebrates the international Year of the Turtle (2006), a coastal village where a sea turtle nested in the last months has been enjoying “visits” and interactions with the sea creatures.

Mayor Domingo Doctor said at least four sea turtles of different species were seen in the Iloi-iloi (pronounced Iliw-iliw) village this April. Three of them were tagged and released to the sea but one died before it can be freed.

The villagers were “thrilled” by the visits and since they already know the importance of conserving wild life, they “surrender” the sea turtles to the local officials which coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the release. Doctor said.

Nicanor Braga, the town’s agricultural technologist and fishery coordinator, identified the sea turtles as Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) which measured 60 x 63 cms) which got caught in a fisherman’s net; Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) which measured 29 x 25) and a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) measuring 34 x 27 cms. The Hawksbill and the green turtle were caught while swimming near the beach.

The dead one was a Hawksbill which died because it got entangled with the seaweeds where the fishermen tied it. It was already weak when the fishermen surrendered the turtle to the authorities, Braga said.

The village recently played host to an Olive Ridley turtle which nested in the area. Only six of the eggs however, were seen to have hatched and the hatchlings were released to the sea.

“Most of the eggs rotted maybe because it rained for several nights and the water seeped into the nest,” Doctor said.

He said he prohibited fishing in the rocky portion of the coastal village to lure more sea turtles in the area. The local government is contemplating to declare the place as a wildlife marine sanctuary.

The last time sea turtles were seen in the village was in 2003 when an Olive Ridley swam near the beach. A green turtle was caught by the fishermen in 2000 and a green turtle, in 2002.

When asked if something was going amiss in the sea which makes the sea turtles go ashore, Angelita Viloria a biologist involved in the DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau’s (PAWB) pawikan conservation project, said “no.”

“Actually, this is a happy news. It means that the sea turtles are starting to thrive because of conservation efforts,” she told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

All the sea turtle species are listed as endangered by the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species, according to a paper Viloria furnished to the Inquirer.

A press release of the PAWB said 23 member countries of the Indian Ocean-South East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding declared 2006 as International Year of the Turtle with the theme “Cooperating to Conserve Marine Turtles – Our Ocean’s Ambassadors.” The declaration was made on March 1 in Bangkok, Malaysia.

Among the seven species of marine turtles known to exist all over the world, five species are frequently encountered in the Philippines, including those seen in this town. The two others are loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatheback (Dermochelys coriacea).

Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Act, prohibits the hunting, killing and collecting of marine turtles and their by-products. Fine ranges from P100,000 to P1 million and/or imprisonment of 6-12 years.

The only live “ludong” or “The President’s Fish” in captivity at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources research center finally got company as some 40 fingerlings of the fish are also already being cultured at the BFAR.
            The ludong or banak (Cestreus plicailis) is known as “The President’s Fish” as it is the most expensive fish of the Philippines at about P4,000 a kilo. It is very rare and very elusive and is known for its unique taste and peculiar aroma.
            Westly Rosario, BFAR’s interim executive director and the research center’s chief, said “eldest” ludong (mullet) and  the 40 fingerlings donated by Dr. Lino Edralim Lim last January, are undergoing morphological identification (physical traits) and then will also undergo DNA fingerprinting. Read more

When the world was young and I was also younger, water could have been plentiful but it was scarce in the house. My family lived in a village not reached by water systems and we did not own a poso (pump well) until I think I was 9 or 10.

Young as we were, my sisters and I had to fetched water from a neighbor’s flowing well, about  70-100 meters away. No, we never complained, it was just a fact of life for us. We were always happy when our father was home (he worked mostly in Manila) as he would fetch water instead.

We were very happy when a nearer neighbor put up a well. We thought we need not carry pails of water over long stretches of road anymore. But the neighbor (the lady of the house) turned a little haughty every time she saw us coming. We felt bad about it, but again, we thought to be at the receiving end of haughtiness was a part of being poor.
Months later, our father was able to raise enough money to build our own well. Great, now we did not have to fetch water from the neighbors anymore. But we still had to carry water from our own well to the house as father did not have enough money to set up running water system in the house yet.

It was about the same time when we had our own well that father constructed a two-storey house for the family. But it was long before we had running water in the house.
Let’s go back to that time when we had to fetch water from the neighbor, the farther one.

My mother knew the difficulty of carrying water in buckets. I can’t remember her fetching water and the chore fell on the little girls’ frail shoulders. But I can remember how she saved and saved every drop of water that was brought into the house by us.

For instance, whenever she took a bath, she sat on a wash basin so that the water she used would be collected. She used the water to wash clothes, then she used the used water to clean the bathroom (which was called batalan). The water used for washing clothes went into watering the plants. Some plants of course, died because of the chemicals.

Fast forward to 2006: I already have my own house with running water.  (I’m still dreaming of the day when hot or cold water would flow from my faucets). But I’m always conscious of saving water and using as little water as possible. I would always tell my house helper to conserve the precious liquid, and my nagging is helpful to an extent. But not enough.

There was a time when my older son (maybe he was five) was already conscious about the scarcity of water. He would say “Save water, the Earth is running out of it.”
But that was a long time ago. He is not so conscious of it now. The two brats (13 and would be under the shower for long that I would  always reminisce of the time when we carried buckets of water as young girls. I’m planning to buy big basins which I would put under the shower to collect the water. Then maybe use it to water plants. I hope the plants won’t die.
 

The Department of Agriculture in the Ilocos Region has advised against gathering and eating tahong (mussels) and talaba (oysters) and other shellfishes from Anda and Bolinao towns as these were found to be positive for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).

DA Regional Director Nestor Domenden, in a letter to Governor Victor Agbayani, said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources  Shellfish Bulletin No. 07 and the results of the analysis of fresh shellmeat samples showed that these were positive of the dangerous poison caused by red tide organisms.

Agbayani has enjoined the municipal mayors of the two towns to inform the public to “refrain from harvesting, gathering, transporting, marketing and eating shellfish from the said areas until further notice.” Read more

With the prices of gasoline going almost unaffordable to most Filipinos, this could be the solution: The e-class bike.

The e-class bikes which look like motorcycles but which runs on electricity, was introduced to Pangasinenses during the opening of a "hub" of the Electric Motor Cycle 1 Corporation at the Nice Place compound in Urdaneta City last week. The hub will be managed by Rosendo So who owns the compound.

A fact sheet distributed during the inauguration of the hub (a hub provides support services to distributors) showed that e-class bike with brand name EMC¹ are being sold in the country by the company which imports from China. Read more

This is another turtle story. No, it’s different from the sea turtle babies in Burgos town which I have written about. But the stories are related.

This is about a sea turtle found sun bathing in the beach of Dasol, a neighbor town of Burgos.  The ever-reliable Ava Sharon Batay-an ( I guess her name came from Maureen Ava Viera, not sure of the spelling, the girl from Aruba who won the heart of Filipinos during a Miss Universe pageant held here. Forgot the year but I know she landed fourth in that beauty contest. Sharon, of course, could have come from Sharon Cuneta. Who does not know her? Or Sharon Stone? Have I lost you yet?) sent me a text message on Sunday about the sea turtle found by the fishermen on the beach.

Ava said it measured  58 cm by 47 cm. “Could be a hawksbill, but I’m not so sure about the species,” she said. Read more

The owners of the barge that grounded in Agno town are transferring its cargo to another barge and have started cleaning up the shore of spilled coal, but the provincial government said the company is not yet off the hook.Governor Victor Agbayani, in a letter to Asian Shipping Corporation, warned the company that the provincial government would file a legal suit against it if it will not immediately tow the barge and clean the shores of spilled coal.