Ongoing conservation efforts on Philippine beaches have resulted in a 28-year high of 1.4 million green turtle eggs.
Conservation International (CI) announced the number of eggs laid last year on protected Baguan Island is at an all-time high since recording of nesting started in 1984.
The number of turtle nests on the island has climbed to 14,220 – almost 2,000 more than the existing 1995 record.
The figures translate to nearly 3,000 nesting green turtles, each of which can nest up to five times within one nesting season.
CI Philippines country executive director Romeo Trono says the number of eggs is “astounding” and presents great hope for the turtle population.
“With an average of 90 percent hatching success and 1 percent survival rate… Baguan in 2011 alone could contribute 13,000 to the adult turtle population.”
Baguan is one of the nine islands of the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area, which is jointly managed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
Poaching and habitat destruction by fishermen, combined with weak law enforcement and egg harvesting by locals, saw the number of nests drop as low as 4,000 in 2003.
An increased focus on training, law enforcement and patrolling on the island has been instrumental in creating a safe environment for the turtles to nest.
“The hatchlings that emerge from the Turtle Islands still face great risks throughout their lives as they journey through the ocean, but at least here in the Turtle Islands, we are determined to provide them with a good start,” Mr Trono says.
3 News