Divers find dead turtle, shark inside fishing net; rescue 2 trapped sharks in Sarangani

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Divers find dead turtle, shark inside fishing net; rescue 2 trapped sharks in Sarangani

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Oct 18, 2023 06:03 PM PHT

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Photo courtesy of East Pardillo
Photo courtesy of East Pardillo

MAASIM TOWN, Sarangani (UPDATE) — Diving instructor East Pardillo and his group from South Point Divers - Sarangani were dismayed when they recently found a lifeless sea turtle and shark inside a fishing net entangled in a coral reef in Maasim, Sarangani.

What was supposed to be a fun dive last Oct. 5 turned out to be an "emotional" one for the group.

Three sharks and an adult turtle were trapped within a fishing net with an estimated size of a basketball court, or even larger. The net covered a coral reef in a marine protected zone.

The diver's photos showed a lifeless sea turtle or pawikan choked by the fishing net and a dead shark with fins bleeding after being entangled in the net.

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"This is not my first time to see a net on the reef. But yes... It was a very emotional dive for us dive operator, dive instructor, dive guides and 2 guests photographers from Korea. This is the worst one so far," Pardillo told ABS-CBN News.

Based on the necropsy, the turtle was a mature female Hawksbill Turtle, which is a critically endangered species.

The shark was also classified as a White Tip Shark--a near-threatened species, which died of stress caused by being caught in the net.

"One lady diver (Korean) was crying underwater while cutting the net," Padrillo shared.

They were able to rescue other two sharks that were also trapped in the net.

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They carefully cut the net using a dive knife as the live sharks were quite aggressive from being entangled.

"What if we never even found them on time? What about the other incidents that divers do not ever find? Our team, South Point Divers - Sarangani, and I can only do so much. We are just a grain of sand in the ocean," Pardillo said.

The fishermen of two wooden boats above the divers tried to pull the net back on their boat, but failed as it was tightly entangled in the corals and rocks.

"After releasing 2 live sharks, 1 lifeless shark, and 1 dead adult turtle, we swam away from the net and their boats before hitting the surface, because we are so worried that we might have a big commotion with the fisherfolks. We took the dead turtle and shark with us as evidence," he said.

The photos of the divers went viral on social media and they hope that authorities will take necessary steps on marine wildlife protection and actions against those who harm the marine species.

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GOVERNMENT ACTION

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Soccsksargen office said authorities will file a legal action against those responsible for the alleged illegal laying of the fishing net.

Felix Alicer, the office's executive director, said Tuesday they have directed their personnel to collaborate with the Protected Area Management Office of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape and the Philippine National Police Regional Maritime Unit 12 to investigate and act promptly on the incident.

The General Santos City Maritime Police Station said that after the incident was reported, they only recovered the fishing net and no one was apprehended.

Maasim municipal fishery coordinator Maizza Labustro said they were shocked and saddened when they learned about the incident.

"Actually, based on our interview, the bungsod (fish trap) was established just a day before the incident happened. And according to Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), there was no clearance issued by them allowing to establish such bungsod," Labustro told ABS-CBN News.

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"Those involved in the laying of the large fishing net in the marine protected area could face criminal charges for violating the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001, the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018, and the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998," the DENR Soccsksargen said in a statement.

"DENR Region XII asks for support in safeguarding the rich marine ecosystem and wildlife in the Sarangani Bay area, which are vital components for sustainable fishing, aquaculture and tourism."

— Report from Hernel Tocmo

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