TANAUAN, LEYTE- Officials in this town in Leyte province are offering incentives to fishermen who would help endangered sea turtles.

Happy that residents are mindful of sea turtles that wash ashore or are caught in fishing nets, Tanauan town officials announced that they will be giving cash incentives to fishermen.

Tanauan Mayor Roque Tiu said that they will be giving P500 to fishermen to encourage them to return the turtles to their original habitat or surrender the rescued animals to proper authorities.

"The [fishermen] are aware that these sea creatures are becoming extinct and that they need to be preserved and protected," said Alex Tabuyan of the Bantay Dagat, a volunteer civiilian fisheries patrol tasked to monitor Philippine coastal waters up to 15 kilometers from shore.

He said it was important to protect the coastline from illegal fishers which could cause harm to the marine ecosystem.

Already, there have been 12 sea turtles of various species rescued at the town since last year.

Just this week, two sea turtles were rescued on separate occasions by fishermen in the area. Fisherman Roel Dupalo of Cabuynan village found a sea turtle measuring 25 inches long and about 25 inches wide, while another fisherman, Rolando Camero, rescued an Olive Ridley sea turtle measuring 18 inches long and about 16 inches wide.

Both turtles were safely returned to the ocean by Bantay Dagat volunteers, with the help of the local government.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), three of seven species of marine turtle are listed as critically endangered or endangered both on the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species. This is because of widespread damage to turtle habitats as well as the killing and illegal trade of marine sea turtle species.