On July 31, fisherman Arnold Bongalonta was on his way home in Roxas City, Philippines, when he discovered an unexpected catch — a hawksbill sea turtle trapped in his fishing net.
Worried that the sea turtle could be injured, Bongalonta immediately contacted the Philippine Coast Guard instead of handling it himself and risking further harm.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office then dispatched personnel from its Conservation and Development Section and met with Bongalonta on site.
“By immediately reporting this entanglement, he saved a critically endangered life and proved that our local fishers are indispensable partners in conservation,” Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said in a statement.
The hawksbill sea turtle, whose shell was roughly the size of a dinner plate, was quickly determined to be a juvenile.
After it was assessed for injuries and given a clean bill of health, the turtle was returned to the ocean shortly after it was captured.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the largest populations of hawksbills are found in the Caribbean, Indian, and Indo-Pacific Oceans. They’ve been known to nest in over 60 countries, from the Philippines to the shores of Australia — but for the last five decades, they have been at risk of extinction.
In addition to bycatch, entanglements, and boat strikes, the greatest danger that all sea turtles face is climate change. Experts widely agree that extreme temperature changes and rising sea levels have disrupted natural nesting grounds, skewed the gender ratios of eggs, and led to mass strandings.
In December 2025, many hawksbill sea turtles were found washing ashore on the banks of New South Wales, Australia, dehydrated from the Southern Hemisphere’s summer heat.
One hawksbill, later named “Bear,” was rescued and transported to the Mudgeroo Wombat & Wildlife Refuge, where she received emergency medical treatment.
When Bear was first brought into the center, she was covered in barnacles and algae — a clear sign that she had been drifting for a long time.
Fortunately, on March 21, after three months of rehabilitation, Bear was given the green light to be returned to the ocean.
“The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered species, so her journey back to begin her reproductive life is so exciting and important to their species,” the wildlife refuge wrote. “For this reason, it was [such a] special feeling when she started improving, and further to see her so fit and ready to go.”
On May 3, Alessia Lavigne — a third-year Ph.D. student studying marine biology and zoology at the University of Sheffield — shared footage of another high-stakes sea turtle rescue and release in the Seychelles.
In the video, which has gained nearly 10 million views on TikTok, hundreds of baby hawksbill sea turtles can be seen racing towards the ocean for the first time.
“All these baby turtles would not have survived without conservation intervention,” Lavigne wrote in a TikTok caption.
Ph.D. student explained that conservationists at Cousine Island Seychelles had carefully relocated hundreds of sea turtle eggs to prevent them from being “completely washed away by the increasingly aggressive coastal erosion.”
“[They returned] these baby hawksbill sea turtles to the beach following their successful hatching in their hatchery,” she said. “Nests that would have otherwise perished are moved into the hatchery as a last resort.”
“I hope they all make it!” one user commented.
“They’ve been given the best second chance at life,” Lavigne assured them.
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Featured Image: Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources
