On December 19, 2012 there was a
dramatic and tragic encounter at Zack's Cove, Limasawa Island between
a young sea-turtle and a very ordinary plastic bag floating in the
sea. The turtle lost.
It was unexpected drama and tragedy for
the group of scuba divers who had crossed the sea from Padre Burgos
to Limasawa Island for dives at Adrian's Wall and Zack's Wall aboard
the banca Kermit, operated by Sogod Bay Scuba Resort of Lungsodaan,
Padre Burgos, Southern Leyte.
The group was thrilled with the calm
crossing from Tankaan Point and first dive on Adrian's wall, where
they marvelled at the beauty of the wall so adorned with corals,
nudibranch, scorpionfish and so mysterious with it's deep crevices
and overhangs. Indeed, a sea-turtle had been encountered by the group
happily feeding in the shallow waters, near the diver's exit point.
This seasoned diver came up from that
dive with the usual pocket-full of household rubbish picked from the
reef. He even saw a plastic bag floating out in the “blue”, well
out of reach. We all know about the dangers of floating plastic bags,
especially to turtles (they mistake these floating bags for
jelly-fish, one of any turtles favourite delicacies). But one cannot
just venture far out from the reef to capture a plastic bag. Or so I
told myself.
It is something I suppose I will always
regret.
After the dive on Adrian`s Wall, with
everyone on board and accounted for, the Banca moved from Adrian's
Wall to the mooring at Zack's Cove, about one kilometre north, for
the planned one-hour interval. The cove is the home of the guard for
the Marine Protected Area (MPA) and his small house is easily visible
from the mooring.
It was a beautiful sunny day and the
divers, guides, and crew were strewn lazily about the boat. About
forty minutes into the interval, somebody spotted a sea-turtle
breaching not very far from the boat. It might come as a surprise to
some, but scuba divers are crazy-lovers of turtles, so everybody
suddenly came alive and jumped-up to see the the turtle before it
dived again.
But what we saw was not the usual
turtle breaching for air. It was a very different and horrifying
sight.
When learning advanced scuba diving
skills, in the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI)
Rescue Diver Course, we learn how to recognise divers in distress on
the surface. We learn that those in trouble and fearing drowning
irrationally kick their legs and flail their arms, trying to raise
their heads as far out of the water as possible.
That is what this turtle was doing! His
head was well out of the water where he should have easily gulped the
air he needed. But still he flailed. It certainly appeared that he
thought he was drowning and seemed unable to take-in air although his
head was well clear of the water.
A crew-member immediately dived into
the water and swam toward the turtle. Meanwhile, a dive guide quickly
put on his scuba gear and entered the water to try to make a rescue.
It was only a minute or so from when the turtle was spotted flailing,
and then disappearing beneath the surface, until the diver reached
him. The turtle had already stopped his struggle.
The diver brought the turtle to the
surface and swam quickly to the boat, where helping hands brought the
turtle aboard the Banca. There was no struggle left in the poor
beast. He appeared to be barely alive, laying passively on the deck
and bubbling from his nose.
Frantic attempts were made to see if something was blocking his throat or mouth, but there seemed to be nothing. What could be done to help the turtle? Our human life-saving techniques can not be used on a hard-shelled turtle. It was dying before our eyes. Within minutes it's eyes closed for the last time. It died there on the deck. With willing but helpless divers looking on.
It was a sad moment for us all. Anyone that has encountered a turtle under the sea knows they are beautiful and gentle animals, who go about their business of survival without causing anyone any harm. Often they are more interested in their dinner than the divers crowding around to stare or take pictures.
The crew signalled to the MPA guard to
join us at the mooring. He dutifully came in his small banca to see
what the fuss was about. The dead turtle was handed over, along with
the story related above. We don’t know what he would have done with
the dead turtle. Maybe it would end-up in soup! It doesn’t really
matter.
In a remote place like Limasawa Island
there are no facilities for evaluating the death of marine life. Only
an autopsy would prove that the turtle had indeed ingested a plastic
bag, blocking it’s breathing and suffocating it.
But this old-hand is convinced that
that plastic bag he saw floating on the previous dive, or one much
like it, caused the death of that young turtle. There is really no
other obvious cause.
This is a true story. It is a sad
personal encounter with the effects of human waste being dumped into
the sea; mainly because local government authorities do not educate
their people about proper disposal of rubbish.Thankfully, the Government of Southern Leyte has recently begun to provide their communities with waste disposal services; providing pick-up of rubbish placed in bins or bags along the main roads of the Province. This program has been funded by the Philippine National Government.
But still, far too much domestic rubbish seems to be cluttering the streets, beaches and coral reefs and, in this case, killing innocent, threatened, marine life. The Southern Leyte Government needs to initiate a vigorous program to promote it's rubbish collection service and to institute education of Barangay residents and, especially the children, on the virtues of carefully disposing of their waste.
This education need not cost much. But it will have a big benefitial effect and might even save the lives of gentle marine animals, like this young sea-turtle.
For
more information, contact...
info@sogodbayscubaresort.com
southern
leyte state university: Homer Yray homeryray@yahoo.com
University
of San Carlos (USC): Ethel C Wargas ecwargas@gmail.com
Philippine
Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and
Development (PCAARRD) www.pcaarrd.dost.gov.ph
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