Former Philippine Egg Poachers Protect Sea Turtles

By David Dudenhoefer

BATAAN, Philippines, October 25, 2002 (ENS) - For years, Filipino fisherman Manolo Ibias searched the beach near his home at night for nesting olive ridley turtles, the eggs of which he sold for about 500 pesos (US$10) per nest. Ibias and his neighbors still patrol the beach at night, but now they bury the eggs they find at a hatchery, where they guard them until the baby turtles hatch and crawl to the sea.

That transformation from poachers to conservationists is the result of a project started by a volunteer from the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and financed by the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme.

PRRM volunteer Wendell Acena helped fishermen in Nagbalayong, on the southwest coast of Luzon island, to form a corporation dedicated to protecting the "pawikan," as they call the olive ridley turtle, and to developing income alternatives to poaching.

"Now we understand that the pawikan is a very important species in the sea," said Ibias, who is the chairman of the corporation. "We feel guilty that we have murdered so many turtles."

Six month old olive ridley turtle ready for release from the hatchery (Photo © David Dudenhoefer)

Turtle eggs are considered an aphrodisiac in the Philippines, where their sale is illegal, but a black market for them persists.

The project's impetus was a move by the country's Department of Environment and Natural Resources to crack down on egg poaching at Nagbalayong.

Acena saw the move as an opportunity to involve the community in turtle conservation, and he began visiting the area on weekends to convince poachers to work with him, promising to help them find other ways of earning money if they did.

Jane Llenerez, whose husband was an egg poacher, was initially skeptical of Acena. For her, the sale of turtle eggs provided a vital addition to the family income, helping her to feed and clothe her three small children.

"I was worried at first that we won't have eggs to sell. But now I feel it is a big privilege to protect the pawikan," she said.

Jane Llenerez and other Bantay Pawikan members release a six month old turtle their group hatched and raised in captivity. (Photo © David Dudenhoefer)

"The money we lose by not selling the eggs is much more than what the income projects generate, but seeing the turtles crawl to the sea is an internal compensation," he said.

Government wildlife officials have taught the fishermen how to handle the turtle eggs and set up a hatchery, whereas the Small Grants Programme paid for other training, basic equipment, and helped the group build a meeting hall.

During the September to February nesting season, each member now spends two nights per week patrolling the 10 kilometer (six mile) beach from sun down to sun up. When they find a turtle nest, they move the eggs to their headquarters, where they guard them till they hatch.

They are also organizing communities at nearby beaches to protect the turtles that nest there.

"We have proven that, even though we are poor fisherman, we have time to protect the pawikan," said Ibias.