Skip to main content

Publisher Pays N25,000 To Have Caught Marine Turtle Returned To The Ocean

It was a mild drama on Sunday, the 11th December as a marine turtle was caught by the local fishermen at the 'Point Of No Return', a popular tourist attraction beach in Badagry, Lagos. The turtle was then sold to female handlers who loaded huddled onto motorcycle for onward transportation to a fish market in the town an have it sold for consumption. 

Seeing how much this beautiful Olive Ridley turtle "meat" (as it's been referred to by the locals) had suffered in the hands of the handlers and subsequently sold as delicacy. 
@metropolexpress publisher, Segun Adebiyi who was at the scene of the event pleaded that the reptile be released to it's natural habitat. Adebiyi explained the need to preserve these special creatures to prevent their extinction. After much negotiation pleading and bargaining, Adebiyi paid N25,000 to have the creature returned to the ocean. 
But the fishermen insisted in catching the turtle again immediately after it's released to the ocean it had been brought, it then belong to them again, to which the purpose of buying the special specie would have been defeated.
Realizing the fishermen were not ready to shift ground, the turtle had to be transported in a car to another nearby Sultan beach, there another drama erupted as the beach boys and the community boys prevented Adebiyi and his team from releasing the turtle into the ocean.
Again, N5,000 was given to the boys before the creature was allowed to return back home where it belongs. The most rewarding moment was to see turtle as it swam back to the ocean.
Sea turtles are generally found in the waters over continental shelves. During the first three to five years of life, sea turtles spend most of their time in the pelagic zone floating in seaweed mats.
Green sea turtles in particular are often found in Sargassum mats,in which they find shelter and food. Once the sea turtle has reached adulthood it moves closer to the shore. Females will come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the nesting season.
Human activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as Endangered. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation. 
They also face habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear. Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites. 
It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings. 





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Biden Announces Purchase Of 200M Vaccine Doses

  President Joe Biden announced a series of measures on Tuesday aimed at ramping up coronavirus vaccine allocation and distribution, including the purchase of 200 million more vaccine doses and increased distribution to states by millions of doses next week. With those additional doses, Biden said there would be enough to fully vaccinate 300 million Americans -- nearly the entire US population -- by the end of summer or early fall. He described efforts to combat Covid-19 as a "wartime undertaking." We now have a national strategy to beat Covid-19. It's comprehensive. It's based on science, not politics. It's based on truth, not denial, and it is detailed," he said. As part of the new efforts announced Tuesday, the US will buy 100 million more doses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 100 million more from Moderna -- the two-dose vaccines that have been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration. Pfizer and Moderna are working to step up p...

How Soldiers Police Fled Abandoning Delta Community Residents During Bloody Robbery Incident

There was pandemonium in Issele-Uku branch, headquarters of Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta state on Tuesday as some armed robbers attacked a branch of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the town. A eyewitness said the robbers gained entrance into the bank after using explosives suspected to be dynamite to blast the bullet-proof door.  According to the eyewitness, the robbers spent over one hour on the operation. He disclosed that no fewer than four persons were killed in the robbery attack. The eyewitness said security operatives around the area refused to show up until the robbers had left. “This attack is a reoccurring one in the community. Yesterday, they robbed for an hour and the police didn't show up, neither did the army nor the community vigilantes until they left, that was when they showed up as usual. “I counted about four bodies, the police station is about a minute drive from the scene of the robbery, while the NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) orientation ...

Police Panel Submits ‘Damning Report’ On Disgraced DCP, Abba Kyari

The  Special Investigation Panel set up by the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to probe the former Head, Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari, a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, has submitted its report. The four-man panel headed by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigations Department, Joseph Egbunike, submitted its findings to the IG on Monday. Information from a reliable source states that the panel submitted ‘damning findings’ in its report, although the DCP continued to prove innocence in the face of the accusations.  The source had yet to reveal further details of the report. The United States Attorney’s Office, Central District of California, had issued an arrest warrant against Kyari for his alleged links to the suspected fraudster, Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, alias Hushpuppi, who is standing trial for various offences that include internet fraud and money laundering. Hushpuppi has since pleaded guilty to the char...