Beach crowd treated to rare laying of eggs by turtles in La Union

October 29, 2018

SAN JUAN, La Union– An olive ridley sea turtle came ashore Sunday afternoon in barangay Urbiztondo here to lay her eggs in broad daylight.

Olive ridleys lay their eggs where they are hatched, which means Urbiztondo was where they were hatched some 25 years ago.

Laying 101 eggs in that afternoon, a mother turtle slowly approached the area where hundreds of other olive ridleys have been hatching, before sunset.

A crowd which were in the place due to the La Union surf break witnessed the event, said Carlos Tamayo, coordinator of the Project CURMA (Coastal Underwater Resource Management Actions), a pawikan conservation and protection program supported by the Science of Identity Foundation (SIF-CARE).

Supported by policemen, Coast Guard auxiliary, men and women from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office), Urbiztondo barangay captain Eric Valdriz,  CURMA volunteers created a safe perimeter around the nesting turtles.

The mother sea turtle was tagged and measured before it returned to the sea with a rousing send off by the crowd, added Tamayo.

The nest was transferred to the CURMA hatchery nearby for safe monitoring and release after 50-60 days.

Tamayo said there were two nests at the hatchery since the nesting season started earlier this month. Nesting season ends in February.   The first nest has 85 and the second with 118.

Sea turtles feed on jellyfish.    If they become extinct, the deadly jelly fishes will multiply exponentially, according to CURMA. DMS