A 5-YEAR-OLD hawksbill turtle was returned to the sea yesterday nearly a day after it was found along the shoreline of sitio Suba-Masulog, barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.

The turtle was found crawling on a rocky surface during low tide on the shoreline of Suba-Masulog by a fisherman’s wife looking for seashells.

Doris Pepito said she brought the turtle home thinking that it would need treatment because it looked weak.

She told a barangay tanod of her find. He in turn informed the Task Force Kalikasan headed by SPO1 Jomar Ybanez and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The turtle measuring 20 inches long and 14 inches wide was turned over to Ybañez and the environment officials.

Ybanez said the hawksbill turtle is in the list of endangered marine species and covered by the laws on endangered species.

He warned that those caught keeping the turtles or kill them for food would be penalized.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the hawksbill turtle is believed to inhabit at least 108 countries, including the Philippines. The turtle is in IUCN’s red list of endangered animals.

Yesterday, the hawksbill turtle was released at the beachfront of Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa’s, which is opposite a marine sanctuary. /Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza