Sea Turtles Essay

of loggerheads from Japan have been reported in Palawan, Albay, and Basilan. Another loggerhead was reported from Puerto Princesa City but the tag number and exact location of capture was not been recorded. Based on interviews conducted by the Pawikan Conservation Project in coastal communities, it is reported that loggerhead turtles are often sighted swimming or nesting. This, however, has not yet to be confirmed, since loggerheads are not known to nest in tropical beaches. The Leatherback is the most widely distributed of all sea turtles. Adult leatherbacks are adapted to colder water than other sea turtles, a capability that is due to their protective thick and oily dermis, counter-current heat exchangers in the limbs, and other physiological

Sea turtles are agents for the dispersal of plants and nutrients in the sea as well as on the beaches where they nest. They keep corals healthy by eating algae, which would otherwise smother the reefs if left unchecked. They are food for a wide array of predators, from birds to sharks, and in areas where turtles are present in abundance; they also provide humans with meat and eggs. Having survived natural hazards for millennia, sea turtles are now under severe threat from human activity. They are caught in nets through trawl and long-line fishing. Dynamite fishing blows up their food sources. They are deprived of nesting sites when sandy areas are converted into beachside condominiums, and their eggs are harvested indiscriminately, leaving few to hatch and replace the current population. The decrease in egg production of green turtles has ranged from 65% to 90% in different parts of Southeast Asia between 1930 and 1993. The region, in fact, is considered the world’s greatest consumer of turtle eggs. In recognition of the need to manage, conserve and protect the species, the Philippine government, through the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau-Department of Environment and Natural Resources (PAWB-DENR), launched the Pawikan Conservation Project (PCP) in 1982. In late 1999, Bantay Pawikan Inc., a local organization, undertook the first turtle conservation project called the