Over 200 Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Eggs Relocated in Boracay to Boost Survival

BORACAY ISLAND–Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) staff have relocated some 243 newly-laid eggs of olive Ridley Sea Turtles from the beach of this resort island to higher ground to keep them safe from tourists and high tide levels that have slowly creeped up through the years.

Marine biologist Haron Deo Vargas of the Boracay Community Environment and Natural  Resources Office said the first Turtle  laid 135 eggs on November 10. CENRO Staff discovered another set of 108 at the Movenpick Resort on November 17.

“The 135-egg hatch is considered the largest clutch so far of Ridley eggs recorded in this resort island,” Vargas said.

The long Covid-19 pandemic  lockdown that scuttled tourist arrivals in Boracay provided a more conducive atmosphere for egg-laying as well as hatching  space for the olive Ridleys, the marine biologist surmised.

Now the return of tourism to pre pandemic levels and incremental increase in high tide levels in the island threaten New eggs and their survival rate, prompting the decision to transfer the egg to higher areas.

The animal, which can be found in many coastal areas of the Philippines, is listed as “vulnerable”  under the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union of conservation of Nature (IUCN) because of an observed  30% to 50% reduction in its global population size, according to DENR.

According to experts, the decline is due primarily in hunting and poaching,as well as the degradation of nesting sites and habitat.

Vargas said the eggs need to be protected from disturbance brought by tourists as well as the threat represented by higher-tide levels.

Vargas said that based on their observation, the survival rate of olive Ridley in Boracay is 1 for every 1,000 eggs.

“Amongst the problems involved were predation, diseases and at times anthroprogenic,: Vargas added referring to a man-made changes to the environment. “It is a global problem which also concerns global warming.’

The marine biologist did not specify the change in tide heights, but Crisostomo Aquino, a local businessman, sent photos of exposed roots  of coconut trees here, usually a sign of coastal erosion.

In 2018, the National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) placed rising sea level as the top threat linked to climate change.

The NPTE warned that the Philippines is experiencing one of the fastest rates of sea level rise in the world and that the phenomenon is affecting around 800 municipalities.

The next biggest threats–a coastal erosion, flooding and increasing  frequency and severity of tropical cyclones-also affect Boracay.