The photos of divers went viral on social media as they hope that authorities will take necessary steps on marine wildlife protection.
MAASIM TOWN, Sarangani — Diving instructor East Pardillo and his group from South Point Divers - Sarangani were dismayed when they found a lifeless sea turtle and shark inside a fishing net entangled in a coral reef in Maasim, Sarangani.Three sharks and an adult turtle were trapped within a fishing net with an estimated size of a basketball court, or even larger. The net covered a coral reef in a marine protected zone.
"This is not my first time to see a net on the reef. But yes... It was a very emotional dive for us dive operator, dive instructor, dive guides and 2 guests photographers from Korea. This is the worst one so far," Pardillo told ABS-CBN News.They were able to rescue other two sharks that were also trapped in the net.
"What if we never even found them on time? What about the other incidents that divers do not ever find? Our team, South Point Divers - Sarangani, and I can only do so much. We are just a grain of sand in the ocean," Pardillo said. "After releasing 2 live sharks, 1 lifeless shark, and 1 dead adult turtle, we swam away from the net and their boats before hitting the surface, because we are so worried that we might have a big commotion with the fisherfolks. We took the dead turtle and shark with us as evidence," he said.