Baby sea turtles stock photo
Barangay Candiis, a small barangay located by the sea in Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental, was known to take care of the hatching of about 300 turtle eggs on their shores during the COVID-19 community quarantine.
In early March, the barangay was placed under general community quarantine to prevent the spread of the highly infectious and fatal novel coronavirus. Still, even with strict lockdown protocols followed, the barangay was able to help free about 300 baby turtles to the sea.
The barangay specifically helped hatch 144 hawksbill baby turtles on May 1 and 155 on May 12.
“Despite the limited work hours, we balance fishing and protecting our marine protected area here,” Rolando Pagara, a village council member, said in the report.
“That’s why we immediately noticed the turtle nesting sites on the beach … the turtles leave their trails or marks, which we were trained to spot in the morning; mother turtles usually lay their eggs in the evening the previous day or at early dawn,” he added.
“Usually, it takes a hawksbill turtle egg to hatch between 60 to 65 days after they are laid in the sand,” Pagara explained.
After the last batch that contained 155 baby turtles, the village is set to have a third batch of 100 eggs that might hatch in the third week of May, as per the report.
If this happens, the total coming from the three batches is the most turtle hatchlings released by the barangay in one month.
Aside from Barangay Candiis, the nearby barangays of San Isidro and Damayohan also serve as nesting sites for the turtles. The town of Magsaysay is has a 612-hectare site that is declared a critical habitat for the animal.
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