Pawikan (Sea Turtle) Sanctuary is located at Brgy. Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan. We went here last February 2011 because of the fiesta and it is also the hometown of my mother. This sanctuary is a community-based sea turtle conservation program that aims to protect and to propagate the endangered sea turtles. The persons behind this program are former hunters and poachers of sea turtles. In this sanctuary, they secure the eggs laid by the sea turtles in the shores at night and then put them to a hatchery until they are hatched. Then they will take care of the baby turtles until they are ready to be released back in their original habitat. In the hatchery, the eggs are separated depending on how old they are.

One of the hatcheries

Sea Turtle Egg Hatchery

The Sea turtles with disabilities like the turtles shown below are taking care of:

Hunchback Sea Turtle (unable to balance himself/herself)

Blind Sea Turtle

Sea turtles are already classified as endangered species. Some of them are declared as "critically" endangered like the Olive Ridley sea turtle, Hawksbill sea turtle, Loggerhead sea turtle, Leatherback sea turtle and the Green turtle.

The efforts now collectively contribute in the protection of nesting turtles, collection and hatching of eggs and releasing of hatchlings to the sea.

With the growing involvement of people and organizations in Bataan, soon all turtles coming to Bataan beaches will be assured of protected nesting…and hopefully this species will once again flourish to continue their function to maintain the balance and health of the international waters.