Saving Sea Turtles from a Sea of Trash and Pollution (Full Episode) | Born to be Wild - video Dailymotion

GMA Public Affairs

Aired (January 26, 2025): In this episode, Doc Nielsen and Doc Ferds travel to Basilan and Sulu to witness the challenges sea turtles endure in heavily polluted waters. Watch the video for the full story.      Watch the video for the full story!

Transcript

00:00So we're going to prepare now to dive, not just a dive though, in Sulu.

00:12We're on our way, when I noticed a diver with me,

00:17a fish that is weak and almost unable to move.

00:23The fish has a tumor.

00:25We need to lift it up because it has a severe tumor.

00:28Let's see what we can do.

00:30Let's go!

00:34In 2018, in Haji Mutamad, Basilan,

00:38This is where the fish are caught.

00:4240 fish were caught and the authorities are collecting them.

00:47The caught fish are sold and eaten.

00:53Look at this. This is the part of the island where there's a lot of garbage.

00:56It's hard to find because it is obstructed.

01:08The beauty of Sulu,

01:11is not only in their forests,

01:15but also in the depths of their oceans.

01:18That's why I haven't been able to dive in one of the dive sites here,

01:29Panglima Tahil.

01:32But our fun dive,

01:35seems like we're going home in an emergency.

01:48It's still early, but we're ready to dive.

01:52It's a perfect day to dive.

01:55There's no current.

01:58Nice weather.

02:02According to the residents,

02:05this island is known to be inhabited by fish.

02:09That's why we will try to see them.

02:12When we dive,

02:16a sea snake immediately jumped on me.

02:23Even though they're not aggressive,

02:26we still have to be careful.

02:29Especially since they have a leader.

02:32After a few minutes,

02:35we saw something.

02:38A nearby big fish.

02:43Next to it,

02:45is another fish that is a resident of the island.

02:51It's a sea snake.

02:54It's a sea snake.

02:56It's a sea snake.

02:58It's a sea snake.

02:59It's a sea snake.

03:02It's Donatello.

03:04They're both small.

03:06This is what any animal should be able to see in the sea.

03:12We're on our way,

03:14when suddenly,

03:16my diver noticed something.

03:19From a distance,

03:21it looks like a big rock full of moss.

03:25But when we approached it,

03:28it's just a rock.

03:32On my first dive in Panglima Tahil in Sunu,

03:37we were able to capture the beauty and richness of their ocean.

03:43But underneath,

03:45something fell on us.

03:50A rock

03:52that we thought was dead.

03:53But to our surprise,

03:55it's still alive

03:57and in critical condition.

04:00Our decision was also critical.

04:05We decided to lift it up and help it.

04:10Almost at the end of a flip or flip of the rod.

04:14The rod has a tumor.

04:16The rod has a tumor.

04:18The rod has a tumor.

04:24We need to lift it up because it has a lot of tumors.

04:28Let's see what we can do.

04:40What a dive.

04:42We didn't expect to see

04:44a turtle that needs help.

04:46I was divided.

04:48Sometimes, you have to let nature take its course.

04:51But I was pitiful.

04:53Usually, turtles

04:55stay underwater for a long time when they breathe.

04:59But this one,

05:01it only breathed three times,

05:03which is not normal for a sea turtle.

05:05It's really hard for it to stay underwater.

05:07This is where I saw the concern and concern

05:11of my team and the residents of the turtle.

05:16Our next step

05:19is to lift it up.

05:22The whole team decided to bring the turtle up

05:26so we can examine and see what we can do.

05:29We can operate on it and take out the tumor.

05:32The turtle's condition is 50-50.

05:35So, we decided to operate on it.

05:38Because its body is almost full of tumors,

05:56it has 15 tumors.

06:08Just do nerve blocking

06:10by using some local anesthesia.

06:15This is just to minimize the bleeding.

06:25Look at that.

06:27The neck of the tumor.

06:28Look at the tumor.

06:58I was with some of the residents of Sulu

07:01in treating the turtle.

07:03Taking out

07:05the first tumor.

07:08The skin is thick.

07:12If not treated,

07:14the turtle can become weak and die.

07:18It's really hard to get the roots.

07:22That's a tumor.

07:24We have to excise it completely.

07:26I think we're almost

07:28done with the side.

07:30It's really hard to get the roots.

07:34That's a tumor.

07:36We have to excise it completely.

07:39I think we're almost

07:41done with the side.

07:49I'm going to stitch up.

07:57Now, we're going to work on the neck area

08:02towards the right flipper.

08:15My last two stitches

08:17and

08:20we're done

08:22with the

08:24marungas.

08:26This is an

08:27old name of this place.

08:28I'm going to give

08:30antibiotics and pain reliever

08:32to our patient.

08:34In no time,

08:35we're going to bring him back to the sea

08:37so we can document his swimming

08:39so he can be a brand new turtle.

08:42Marungas' surgery was a success.

08:46It took us an hour

08:48to operate

08:50Marungas.

08:53These are the tumors we removed.

08:55All these tumors

08:56we were able to take out.

08:58It's time to release Marungas.

09:04Before we let him go,

09:06I checked

09:08if he has enough strength to swim.

09:11Wow, look at this.

09:13Our patient

09:14is ready to swim

09:15without all those tumors.

09:17Nice save, you know.

09:18This is a great day for all of us

09:21because we just came here

09:23to see the resident

09:24sea turtles.

09:25But

09:26this is what we encountered.

09:28We encountered

09:30a sea turtle

09:31that needs help.

09:33When we put Marungas in the water,

09:36he suddenly

09:37and seemingly

09:38regained his strength.

09:42So we slowly

09:43released Marungas

09:45back to his home,

09:48the sea.

09:55Now,

09:56Marungas

09:57is able to swim again

09:58in the 5th wave.

10:01He is strong

10:02and in a good condition.

10:07In every expedition

10:08that we go to,

10:11we try our best

10:13especially

10:14in unexpected situations.

10:17And no matter

10:18the situation

10:19of their lives

10:20that we face,

10:22we are ready

10:23to help

10:24in order to

10:25save

10:26and reduce

10:27their suffering.

10:37The sea is calm.

10:39The sea turtles

10:40are calm.

10:42The sea turtles

10:43are calm.

10:45But

10:46the sea turtles

10:48are busy with their food

10:50that can be seen

10:51in the corals.

11:04These two

11:05seem to have

11:06something to talk about.

11:09Until

11:10their peaceful life

11:12was surrounded

11:13by fear.

11:16They were caught

11:17by humans

11:18and eaten.

11:20The fish

11:21are here.

11:27They are fighting.

11:29Four people

11:30were killed

11:31because of

11:32their food.

11:34The sea turtles

11:35are the only

11:36survivors

11:37in the life

11:38of the sea turtles

11:39that seems

11:40to have increased.

11:54Residents of

11:55Langil Island,

11:56Basilan,

11:57said that

11:58there are a lot

11:59of sea turtles.

12:00That's why

12:01for the first time,

12:02we will try

12:03to document this.

12:07We want to see

12:08the sea turtles

12:09that are below.

12:10Let's see

12:11if they are calmer.

12:18In our investigation,

12:20the sea turtles

12:21became frightened.

12:24The sea turtles

12:25seem to be camera shy.

12:30They left

12:31as soon as they saw me.

12:37To prevent them

12:38from getting scared,

12:39we used a drone.

12:41This one is

12:42good at

12:43eating alone.

12:46Another sea turtle

12:47is also close to him.

12:50But I learned

12:51about the situation

12:52of the sea turtles there.

12:59I learned about

13:00the situation

13:01of the sea turtles there.

13:02They were caught

13:03by humans

13:04to eat.

13:07In the past,

13:08sea turtles

13:09were caught

13:10by humans

13:11to eat.

13:12There is no record

13:13of how many sea turtles

13:14were caught by humans

13:15in the past.

13:16Until now.

13:18Until now.

13:19Humans are ignorant.

13:23Everything changed

13:24now.

13:25Because instead of

13:26being caught,

13:27they were saved

13:28by humans

13:29to return

13:30to the wild.

13:32In this batch,

13:33I saw

13:34more than

13:3510 sea turtles.

13:38Why did you keep them?

13:39For protection.

13:40Protection from them?

13:41There are more chances

13:42that they will live.

13:43Although not all of them,

13:44but as a majority

13:45of them,

13:46they will live.

13:47Like,

13:48if they are still

13:49in the dock,

13:50but there are

13:51many threats.

13:52They will eat

13:53fish.

13:54They will eat

13:55birds.

13:58This one is

13:59one month old

14:00in the care

14:01of the captain.

14:03He feeds

14:04fish.

14:08Green Sea Turtle

14:09and Hawksbill Turtle

14:10are the species

14:11of sea turtles

14:12that can be seen

14:13on the island.

14:16They plan

14:17to return them

14:18to the sea

14:19when the sea turtles

14:20are big enough.

14:22But because

14:23the sea turtles

14:24are in the dock

14:25with water,

14:26it is possible

14:27that their

14:28natural instinct

14:29will disappear.

14:31We need to return them

14:32because otherwise,

14:33they will not learn

14:34how to survive

14:35in the wild.

14:36Like,

14:37they will

14:38get their own food

14:39because

14:40they are used to

14:41being fed here.

14:42Yes.

14:46At the moment,

14:47they are destroying

14:48the prison

14:49for the sea turtles.

14:52In 2018,

14:53in Haji Mutamad,

14:54Basilan,

14:55they are slaughtering

14:56the sea turtles here.

14:5740 sea turtles

14:58were killed

14:59and the authorities

15:00chased them away.

15:03The slaughtered

15:04sea turtles

15:05were sold

15:06and eaten

15:07while

15:08more than

15:0920 sea turtles

15:10are still alive

15:11and clean.

15:15When I went around

15:16the island,

15:17I saw a new

15:18threat

15:19to the sea turtles.

15:21The garbage

15:22in the sea.

15:23While we were

15:24walking here

15:25in the beach

15:26of Langil,

15:27we noticed

15:28these sea turtle

15:29tracks.

15:31It went here

15:32and then

15:33it came back.

15:34Look at this.

15:35This is the part

15:36of the island

15:37where there's a lot

15:38of garbage.

15:39Maybe,

15:40when it was looking

15:41for a place to dig,

15:42it couldn't find it

15:43because it was

15:44obstructed.

15:45There's a lot

15:46of garbage

15:47and wood

15:48buried here.

15:49Maybe,

15:50this is one of the

15:51reasons why

15:52it came back

15:53and explored

15:54other areas.

15:55When we flew

15:56the drone again,

15:57we saw

15:58a turtle

15:59in the sea.

16:00We followed it

16:01until it reached

16:02the part

16:03of the sea

16:04where there's

16:05a lot of garbage.

16:12It covered it

16:13and ate it

16:14one by one.

16:20The garbage

16:21was with it

16:22when it swam.

16:24Only one

16:25turtle

16:26was left

16:27with the garbage

16:28in the sea.

16:31According to

16:32Dr. Deyo Onda,

16:33an oceanographer,

16:36garbage

16:37is not only

16:38found in the

16:39shallow parts

16:40of the sea.

16:41This is the

16:42deepest part

16:43of the Philippines.

16:44We're showing

16:45a raw depth

16:46of 10,045 meters.

16:47Third deepest

16:48place on the planet.

16:50Even

16:51in the bottom

16:52of the sea.

16:53Plastics down there

16:54is already alarming

16:55because why is there

16:56plastic in the

16:57deepest part

16:58of the Philippines?

16:59This is an indication

17:00of how much

17:01plastic is

17:02under the sea.

17:03Plastics that are

17:04not easily

17:05seen by humans

17:06are more alarming

17:07now.

17:08These are

17:09microplastics

17:10that can possibly

17:11affect the

17:12sea

17:13like the

17:14ocean.

17:15The problem

17:16with plastics

17:17is that they're

17:18not the same material.

17:19Plastics have

17:20many small

17:21organisms

17:22and bacteria

17:23attached to them.

17:24Those bacteria

17:25can also

17:26produce poison

17:27or even

17:28cause diseases.

17:29Last November,

17:30more than

17:3130 people

17:32ate fish

17:33in Maguindanao

17:34del Norte.

17:35Four people

17:36died here.

17:37There was

17:38one person

17:39who was

17:40arrested

17:41but the fish

17:42was alive

17:43when they

17:44caught him.

17:45Toxicive

17:46is the

17:47cause of

17:48cancer

17:49and the

17:50death

17:51of victims.

17:52It is a

17:53type of

17:54food poison

17:55that is

17:56obtained

17:57from eating

17:58fish.

17:59It is

18:00painful

18:01and

18:02contagious.

18:03This is

18:04just one

18:05of the

18:06symptoms

18:07of

18:08kilonotoxicive.

18:09Aside from

18:10toxic,

18:11salmonella

18:12can also

18:13affect

18:14the

18:15health

18:16of people.

18:17To date,

18:18studies are

18:19still ongoing

18:20on

18:21kilonotoxicive

18:22in fish.

18:23Those who

18:24survived

18:25still need

18:26to be

18:27monitored

18:28every

18:29day.

18:30In

18:312025,

18:32one of the

18:33IEC's

18:34contents

18:35will be

18:36the

18:37localized

18:38IEC.

18:39Most

18:40of our

18:41residents

18:42haven't

18:43studied yet.

18:44Before

18:45we left

18:46the island,

18:47we gave

18:48an educational

18:49campaign

18:50on how

18:51to take

18:52more

18:53care of

18:54the fish

18:55in their

18:56natural

18:57habitat.

18:58We

18:59trained

19:00turtles

19:01alone

19:02until

19:03she has

19:04laid

19:05all the

19:06eggs.

19:07This

19:08island is

19:09one of the

19:10most beautiful

19:11islands I

19:12have seen.

19:13Last

19:14night,

19:15the

19:16baby

19:17fish

19:18were taken

19:19away from

19:20the

19:21island.

19:22I

19:23just

19:24wish

19:25them

19:26a

19:27happy

19:28new

19:29year.

19:30I

19:31hope

19:32you

19:33will

19:34be

19:35happy

19:36too.

19:37Thank

19:38you.

19:39I

19:40will

19:41miss

19:42you.

19:43Thank

19:44you.

19:45Thank

19:46you.

19:47Thank

19:48you.

19:49Thank

19:50you.

19:51Thank

19:52you.

19:53Thank

19:54you.

19:55Thank

19:56you.

19:57Thank

19:58you.

19:59Thank

20:00you.

20:01Thank

20:02you.

20:03Thank

20:04you.

20:05Thank

20:06you.

20:07Thank

20:08you.

20:09Thank

20:10you.

20:11Thank

20:12you.

20:13Thank

20:14you.

20:15Thank

20:16you.

20:17Thank

20:18you.

20:19Thank

20:20you.

20:21Thank

20:22you.

20:23Thank

Saving Sea Turtles from a Sea of Trash and Pollution (Full Episode) | Born to be Wild

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