Turtle rescued in Tabaco City from butcher’s knife
By JOSE CARRETERO, ABS-CBN Bicol | 12/30/2008 7:16 PM
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Rescued pawikan |
A green turtle, called locally as pawikan, was rescued by barangay officials and Maritime police in Tabaco City.
The female turtle weighed 200 kilograms and measured 170 centimeters long and had a width of 97 cm.
Senior Inspector Lupe Llorca, Tabaco City Maritime police chief, said that the green turtle was captured using a compressor in San Miguel Island in Tabaco.
The turtle was reportedly brought to Barangay San Roque and was purportedly scheduled to be butchered Tuesday morning.
Concerned residents, however, reported the incident to Maritime police who immediately conducted operations. The turtle was discovered near the shoreline of Barangay San Roque allegedly hidden under coconut leaves.
Maritime police admitted that pawikan trade in Tabaco is quite alarming.
Some fishermen would reportedly catch pawikan and sell it to Chinese clients for P60-P70 a kilo.
Maritime police immediately released the rescued turtle at the coast of Barangay Salvacion also in Tabaco.
An investigation is also on going to track down the fishermen who captured the pawikan.
Since 2004, around twenty pawikan have been captured in Tabaco City. The city government is now conducting a study to determine if the Tabaco coastline is a breeding ground of the turtles.
