Public pressure is picking up again for the release of at least four green sea turtles being held in captivity at a supposed marine mammal park in Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, after photographs posted recently on the social site, Facebook, showed the current dismal state these endangered creatures were in.
The green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) varied in sizes and are all held in one medium-sized rectangular concrete tank at the Oceanarium in Zamboanguita town, about an hour’s drive south of this capital, a facility that once was popular to local and foreign tourists alike in its early years but has now seen a decline due to “neglect”.
The Chelonia mydas or green turtle is listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature,and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and has a world-wide distribution. It is commonly found in Philippine waters and it is illegal to hunt them.
Steve de Neef, an environmentalist and a professional photographer/videographer who works with international advocacy groups, in a recent visit to the Oceanarium said he discovered how these green sea turtles are not being properly fed nor taken care of.
De Neef, who captured some “disturbing” images of the turtles swimming in dirty water in the tank, the photos of which he uploaded on his Facebook account, disclosed that he also witnessed some people touching the marine mammals with one woman even tugging at a turtle’s fin.
He lamented that on the day of his visit, the caretaker of the so-called marine mammal park was not around to accommodate the visitors, much less keep an eye on the turtles to protect them from unnecessary human disturbance.
His photos were so catching that many online comments reiterated prior calls for the shutdown of the said facility and the immediate release of the green sea turtles to the wild.
“It’s nothing new. We have received similar complaints about the turtles not receiving proper care and attention and not being fed properly,” said Mario Aragon, chief of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office II of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the province.
In fact, Oscar Mongcopa, CENRO II chief of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Sector, disclosed that the last monitoring conducted on the oceanarium in Zamboanguita in November 2011 confirmed the need to have the facility recommended for closure.
The oceanarium has been issued a Certificate of Wildlife Registration for five green sea turtles several years ago, to include some at their juvenile stage back then, said Aragon. It was not immediately known what happened to the fifth turtle as according to Steve de Neef, he only saw four inside their swimming tank.
CENRO II chief Mario Aragon said that following Mongcopa’s report, his office forwarded a recommendation to the DENR in Region 7 to cancel the permit for the turtles and to close down the facility after noting some “signs of neglect”. These would include the apparent unwillingness of the current operators to build a larger holding tank for the turtles as well as their financial inability to maintain the oceanarium, Aragon said.
Furthermore, the income derived from visitors coming to the so-called marine mammal park is measly that it would not even be enough to feed the workers, according to Mongcopa. Entrance fee to the oceanarium is pegged at P10 per person.
However, one issue that needs careful discussion and preparation is the future of the green sea turtles once the facility’s permit has been cancelled, such as adaptation to the wild, Mongcopa stressed.
Mongcopa fears that because these turtles have been used to human feeding, they would not become self-reliant to survive in the wild. Other dangers he cited include the turtles becoming prone to fisheries accidental catch or even being hunted down for their meat.
De Neef admitted the need for more detailed work to prepare the sea turtles for their reintroduction to the wild as releasing them to the sea might not be an option yet as they are “too weak”.
CENRO II’s Oscar Mongcopa said they would welcome help from different sectors who are willing to provide options for the future of the green sea turtles in captivity. An assurance that there will be people or groups willing to take into custody these marine mammals would strengthen the CENRO II’s recommendations with the DENR-7, he added.
Aragon, meanwhile, said he would like to obtain a copy of De Neef’s photographs and video clips to reinforce the CENRO II’s recommendation for the revocation of the CWR and the closure of the oceanarium in Zamboanguita. (PNA)
