Hatchlings of the endangered green sea turtles were released to their habitat in the coastal area of Barangay San Francisco, municipality of Tibiao in this province on Sunday.

Genevieve Heramis of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Culasi town that covers Tibiao said on Monday the 86 hatchlings were discovered by a fisherman from the said barangay on June 26, 2021 around 20 meters away from the sea.

“Fisherman Melchor Dalmacio, who is a resident of Barangay San Francisco, accidentally discovered the hatchlings inside a hole along the coastal area,” she said.

The discovery was immediately reported to their office and on Sunday the hatchlings were released.

Heramis added that aside from the 86 hatchlings, there were 15 other eggs found to be spoiled or unhatched.

“The green sea turtle is commonly spotted by the Tibiao coastal folks for they are attracted on the seagrass thriving on the area,” she said as the marine animal feeds on the plant.

Meanwhile, Heramis urged the coastal residents that if ever they would again spot green sea turtle hatchlings they have to immediately report to the CENRO for the protection of the marine animal.

“We surround the area where the eggs or the hatchlings are found with a plastic net so that it could be protected until it could be released to sea,” she said.

“We put metal tag on the adult green sea turtle so that whenever they would be found in other countries they would know it came from our country,” she added. (PNA)