By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

At least 53 sea turtle hatchlings were released after they were discovered in a beach resort at Barangay Nauhang in Negros Occidental’s Sipalay City yesterday morning.

Edsel Toledo, Bantay Dagat Task Force coordinator, said at around 2:00 a.m. yesterday, 63-year-old Rodolfo Lejarso, a staff of the Saka-Saka Beach Resort, along with other resort guests, discovered the hatchlings.

They gathered the hatchlings and secured them in a tub with seawater.

The resort immediately contacted the city government.

Toledo and the City Agriculture Office came over to the beach resort to make documentation of the hatchlings before releasing them.

He said the sea turtle hatchlings were possibly attracted to the lights from the resort.

Toledo also informed the resort management and guests of the marine creatures’ importance in the ecosystem, stating that the sea turtles’ presence indicates that the area is a healthy and clean environment.

In January of last year, two batches of hatchlings were released into their natural habitat in the city’s Poblacion Beach.

Bantay Dagat also released 45 sea turtle hatchlings in the following month./ With reports from PNA / DGB, WDJ