Pawikans, from newborns who struggle to the sea, to the beauty of watching them in the oceans, laying their eggs and helping them make a life – that is what Gerry Grospe didn’t do for years.
In fact Gerry used to sell the turtles for their meat and collect their eggs for food 8 years ago – but Gerry’s life took a turn for the good, and today he has become one of the top conservationists in the Philippines.
Inviting people to his seminars and workshops in Katimpuyog Zambales, Gerry is an advocate and a pawikan ranger in San Narcisco, Zambales
“Our pawikan rangers are composed of local fishermen and farmers who used to be poachers but now protect and conserve not just our sea turtles but our natural resources as a whole,” Larraine said.
“He [Grospe] is one of those ‘transformed’residents who now patrol the seashore to protect the threatened marine creatures,” he added.
Grospe now patrols the beaches – a distance of over 4 kilometers – everyday he locates nesting grounds of turtles and collects their eggs for the hatchery.
His community recently released 65 Olive Ridley turtles into the West Philippine Sea as part of a conservatory effort by Katimpuyog Zambales.
The hatcher is located in the same town and is rightfully named The Pawikan Conservation Center – The center is supported by SM Cares Foundation, who assists in conservation efforts, keeping the turtles from poachers, commercial traders and predators.
So far this year, a total of 51 pawikan turtle encounters happened, of those 18 were tagged and 33 were traces of their nesting activities.
Once the turtles are found they are tagged with the code PHL, though it is not unusual to see tagged turtles in the region of Zambales which bear the flipper tags of Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia as they too are trying to bring back and assist those in need of human interaction.
The pawikan turtle is amazing as it can actually remember its nesting place where it was born, even 25-years later.
Conservationists have confirmed that three of the seven species of sea turtles can in fact be seen in Zambales.