Blast fishing blamed for deaths of sea turtle, whale in Quezon’s Tayabas Bay
LUCENA CITY—The environmental group Tanggol Kalikasan (TK) has raised an alert over the renewed illegal fishing in Tayabas Bay following the deaths of an olive ridley turtle and a dwarf sperm whale.
“This is alarming. The concerned government agencies should exert all efforts to find and punish the culprits to serve as a warning to other illegal fishers,” said TK project officer Jay Lim on Monday, citing reports from authorities in Sariaya town, Quezon.
The olive ridley turtle, locally known as “pawikan,” was found dead on the shores of Barangay Guisguis Talon on June 14.
“The [belly] of the turtle was blown open, and its eyes and intestines were exposed. Some of its carapace or scales were also broken and detached,” Lim said.
The turtle measured 1.30 meters long and 0.90 meters wide and weighed 100 kilograms.
On June 6, a dead dwarf sperm whale was found on the shores of Barangay Bignay 2, also in Sariaya. Due to the foul odor, the whale was immediately buried.
“There is one thing that I am sure of—their deaths were caused by illegal fishing activities, particularly dynamite fishing,” Lim said.
Several leisure anglers confirmed Lim’s suspicion, saying, “We now rarely conduct angling in the seas off Sariaya. There are no more fish to catch due to frequent dynamite explosions.”
Lim noted that sea turtles often die after suffocating in fish traps or from blast fishing.
Appeal
He appealed to fisherfolk not to harm turtles, saying, “They are allies in sustaining fish populations.”
“The presence of marine reptiles in a fishing area indicates a balanced marine ecosystem and an abundant fish supply,” Lim added.
He lamented that the dead turtle could have been among those that lay eggs annually along the Sariaya coastline, where hatchlings are cared for by locals in five nesting sites.
TK, a public interest law office in Lucena City, continues to advocate for stricter enforcement of environmental laws. Under Republic Act No. 9147, killing or harming endangered species is prohibited.
Illegal fishing and pollution have damaged Tayabas Bay’s marine resources, with reefs degraded by dynamite and cyanide fishing and mangrove forests destroyed, TK’s study reported.
The 287,332-hectare bay spans from San Juan, Batangas, to several Quezon localities, including Sariaya and Lucena City.
