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The Philippines clinched yet another honor, the coveted �Ecotourism Destination of the Year� title in the 2009 edition of Nature, one of France�s biggest travel fairs. The Department of Tourism attributed this latest victory to a number of factors, foremost of which is the country�s selection as site of �Koh Lanta� (The French TV version of Survivor) for two years in a row. After shooting in El Nido, Palawan, in 2006, the show�s producers were back in late 2007, this time in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, with a new batch of competitors. �This is unprecedented in �Koh Lanta�s� history,� the DoT said. �Since it debuted a few years ago, the show is watched by almost 8 million people every week.� Images of the Philippines are likely to linger in French living rooms a year or two from now, as the DoT finalizes details with producers of the French version of �Great Amazon.� The show, which reportedly has a bigger following than �Koh Lanta,� also wants to shoot an entire season in the Philippines. Based on exit surveys, according to the Tourism Department, foreign tourists spent close to $4.8 billion in the Philippines last year. This figure doesn�t include plane fares and hotel accommodations, which they usually buy in their respective countries, and other miscellaneous expenses. After exceeding last year�s target of three million tourists by close to 100,000, the country, despite dire global developments, seems poised to meet its current target of 3.5 million tourists by the end of 2008. Koh Lanta Palawan Faced with a financial meltdown, the US market has begun to slow down. The same condition applies to Japan and other key European markets, except France and Russia. �While global tourism continues to contract, the French market, as far as we�re concerned, grew by 29 percent in the first seven months of the year,� the DoT said. French arrivals to the country was in the red as recently as three years ago, making such a feat all the more impressive. Only the Russian market, which posted a 34-percent growth rate within the same period, did better. Both groups are known to visit a particular country for an average of two weeks. Interest in the Philippines is bound to intensify after Jet Tour and Bacamces Tramsat, two of France�s best tour operators, recently launched the Philippines as one of its major destinations. The French, the DoT added, are always on the lookout for newer, more exciting destinations in Asia. Those who first stumbled on the Philippines were pleasantly surprised to find out the country, apart from its postcard-pretty beaches, has an interesting Latin heritage that�s totally unique in Asia. �The French are always looking for culture in a country,� the DoT said. �They love visiting old churches and going to markets to experience how life is in a particular place. If you travel so far, you need to find something different yet familiar. You don�t travel for 15 hours just to see a nice beach.� 10,000 endangered turtle eggs from the Philippines seized in Malaysia (The Philippine Star Nov.05, 2008) KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia police said Tuesday they have seized a massive haul of 10,000 endangered turtle eggs which were destined for sale in food markets on Borneo island. Muhammad Sallam Spawi, marine police chief in Sandakan city on the northeast coast of Malaysian Borneo, said the eggs were thought to have been smuggled from nearby islands in the Philippines. "This is the biggest haul for us in history. These are eggs from endangered species of turtles and were to have been sold at the Sandakan market," Muhammad Salam told AFP. "Our investigations have revealed that a syndicate obtained the eggs from several islands in the Philippines," he said. Marine police on Sunday raided a beach in Sandakan, in Sabah state, after receiving a tip-off. In October they seized 3,000 turtle eggs in the same area. Four smugglers were unloading the eggs from a speed boat when police arrived. The smugglers panicked and escaped in the boat, leaving 20 sacks of eggs behind. Turtle eggs are sold openly in Malaysian markets and fetch a price of up to 2.80 ringgit (0.80 US cents) each, despite legislation banning their sale or consumption in Sabah state. "There is a huge demand among locals and the eggs are easily available. We are constantly doing raids and apprehending irresponsible traders," Muhammad Salam said. He said the eggs had been handed to the local wildlife department which will identify the species and try to salvage them. "The eggs which fail to hatch will have to be destroyed," he said. Malaysia was once the scene of massive numbers of turtle nestings along its shoreline, but development as well as widespread plundering of eggs has caused the numbers to plummet in recent years. Vietnamese turtle poachers caught by El Nido (WWF-Philippines Aug.29, 2008) 
The pair of Andrada-class gunboats from Joint Task Force Malampaya (JTFM) expected nothing more than a quiet and uneventful sweep through Linapacan, Northern Palawan. By day�s end, they would have seized one of the largest illegal wildlife hauls of the year. At 11:00 PM, Navy gunboat PG-380 chanced upon a Vietnamese fishing vessel, which suddenly attempted to escape. Propelled by tandem 2800 horsepower engines, the gunboat overtook the smaller craft, identified as Q.ng 91234-TS, five nautical miles east of Cabaluan Isle. An attempt to scuttle the vessel was quickly thwarted by the boarding team when the 13-man Vietnamese crew sabotaged the engine cooling system � unplugging the drain to flood much of the craft until a submersible pump could be brought in. Found drowned in the vessel�s cargo hold were 101 Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata sub. bissa). Though resting sea turtles can remain submerged for up to two hours, stressed individuals must resurface every few minutes. Growing to a metre in length and weighing as much as 80 kilograms, huge numbers of Hawksbill Turtles once plied the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic regions. Distinguished from other sea turtles by a hooked beak and heavily-serrated carapace, the Hawksbill has for millennia been hunted for food and tortoiseshell � a material used as far back as the ancient Greek and Roman eras to fashion jewellery, combs and brushes. It is now classified by the IUCN as critically-endangered � the highest risk rating for a living animal (save for being completely extinct in the wild). Under Philippine and international law, it is illegal to capture and kill sea turtles and to trade in turtle by-products. Paradise for Asia's cruel Poacher's The incident echoes the previous September�s Tawi-Tawi poaching case, where 126 endangered Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) and 10,000 turtle eggs were found aboard Chinese fishing vessel 01087 in Sulu. Considering that the crew was scuttling much of the carcasses to hide the evidence, the final tally for the incident was officially pegged at over 200 adult turtles. The case remains unresolved. Says WWF Project Manager RJ de la Calzada, �Again and again, foreign nationals have encroached upon Philippine waters to plunder our nation�s dwindling marine resources. It disheartens us to find the animals we work so hard to conserve slaughtered on a wholesale basis.� Last 6 July four Vietnamese aboard vessel Q.ng 95986 were arrested for alleged poaching off Guntao Isle, El Nido. Four other fishing boats, believed to be Vietnamese, escaped. On 13 April, a 23-man Vietnamese poaching detail aboard the Quang Mei was arrested in Balabac, Southern Palawan. Retrieved from the craft were assorted fish and a sea turtle. With heavy rains and under the veil of darkness on 14 April, 21 made an escape, leaving behind skipper Dang The and another crewman to face charges in Puerto Princesa. In December of 2006, the M/V Hoi Wan, a Chinese fishing vessel, was caught poaching off the Tubbataha Reefs in Palawan. Amongst its catch were 359 CITES-protected Napoleon Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus). The case is unresolved. In the last decade over a thousand foreigners have been arrested and charged for poaching in the waters of Palawan alone. Over 660 poachers were Chinese. Only one case, the January 2004 arrest of 17 Chinese poachers caught with 54 dead sea turtles, has ever led to a conviction - but even they were pardoned after paying a light fine. Amidst fears that justice might again be elusive, WWF, the global conservation organization, is acting as a watchdog to ensure that these charges push through, once and for all. Vessel Q.ng 91234-TS is now moored in El Nido: WWF, DENR, JTFM-AFP, PNP and the local government of El Nido are now facilitating post-apprehension procedures for the 13 Vietnamese crewmen. The poachers will be charged with violating the Philippine Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act (RA9147) � penalties for which can incur a fine of up to one million pesos, coupled with a six-year jail term. They may also be charged with illegal incursion and breaking the Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA8550). Says WWF President Dave Valdes, �WWF condemns such blatant poaching of internationally-protected marine life and hopes that the Philippine government will finally have the resolve to dispense due justice against foreign poachers who disregard both local and international laws.� As for the 101 dead Hawksbill Turtles, a decent burial and newly-hardened resolve would be the most fitting of tributes. Five of the worlds seven marine turtles found in the Philippines Based on research, there are more than 220 species of turtles in the world, but only seven are considered marine (salt water). Five of these species are found in the Philippines.These are the Green, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Leatherback and Hawksbill. The hawksbill sea turtle is a small to medium sea turtle with a very attractively colored shell of thick overlapping scales. This shell is the source of "tortoise shell." Hawksbill turtles have a distinct, hawk-like beak. Adults range in size from 0.8-1.0 meters (30-36 inches) shell length and weigh 45-90 kilograms (100-200 pounds). The hawksbill turtle is a shy tropical reef dwelling species that feeds primarily on sponges. Commercial exploitation is the major cause of the continued decline of the hawksbill sea turtle. There is a continuing demand for the hawksbill's shell as well as other products including leather, oil, perfume, and cosmetics. The hawksbill shell commands high prices (currently $225/kilogram), a major factor preventing effective protection. |
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