But the man known in the marine conservation community as the “pawikan (marine turtle) expert” remains deeply committed to turtle conservation 36 years since he led a team of young biologists from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Pawikan Project on Baguan Island, part of the Turtle Islands in Tawi-Tawi province, Mindanao. Turtle conservation was “unpopular” at the time, no thanks to very little scientific research available. They would harvest thousands of turtle eggs and take them to the hatchery to keep them safe from poachers, who usually found their way to Baguan during squalls. “The most powerful person at that time controlled the turtle eggs, like the mayor. A female sea turtle lays five to seven clutches of eggs per nesting season, with each clutch having about 100 eggs.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 02, 2018 23:03 UTC