Sea turtles of Macajalar and Gingoog Bays Mindanao, Philippines

There are 4 species of sea turtles recorded in Macajalar and Gingoog Bays in Northern Mindanao. The hawksbill and the green turtle have the highest occurrence while casual and accidental occurrences are recorded for the olive ridley and leatherback turtle. Sea turtles are recorded in 22 barangays (the smallest geopolitical unit in the Philippines) of 11 municipalities in both bays, but only the hawksbill and green turtles are observed in in-water and boat surveys. Only the hawksbill turtle is confirmed to nest in 9 barangays of 5 municipalities. Nesting is all year round with peaks during the 1st quarter of the year. 22% of the nests have not reached hatching due to poaching (14%) and natural causes (8%). Nesting activity is within the range recorded for the species. Sea turtle-human interactions are generally positive with majority of accidental captured turtles released although poaching of eggs and deaths of sea turtles directly or indirectly manmade are still documented. Keywords - sea turtles, hawksbill turtle, green sea turtle, olive ridley turtle, leatherback turtle, conservation