'Born to be Wild' comes face to face with a pawikan laying eggs

BORN TO BE WILD

“Tuna Wars” and “Pugad ng Pawikan” 

Airing date: June 20, 2012

 

After three straight days out at sea, Doc Nielsen and the group of fishermen they have been following have not seen even a single head of tuna. From Davao Gulf to Sarangani Bay, they traveled twenty-one hours just to try their luck.  They were welcomed by bad weather but kept moving forward, searching for the prized fish. Now nearing four days without a single catch, the boats are running out of supplies, and crew members are falling ill. Fishermen recount a heartbreaking tale, when they had to keep sailing with a fellow fisherman who had died of illness at sea, because they were too far from land. Indeed, the famous tuna, sought by many as a delicious dish, means more than just food for these fishermen. To them, tuna is a struggle which can sometimes cost their lives.

 

The fishermen and the Born team now face a dilemma. Fishers from nearby Indonesian waters have told them that they caught several heads of big eye tuna from the border. But the fishermen are aware of the threat of being arrested or even shot at by foreign authorities. Just last year, a Filipino fisherman from General Santos was shot and killed after straying into Indonesian waters. For several days, the two boats—one for the fishermen, and the other for the Born crew documenting their journey—have sailed together. Faced with this dilemma, the two boats seem to be veering towards two separate courses. The Born team decides to take their boat home, but the fishermen still face a tough decision. Where will the tides take them?

 

Meanwhile, guest host Mariz Umali is lucky to have witnessed a green sea turtle laying 118 eggs just in front of the place where the team is staying. But a dilemma arises. The eggs were laid just a few steps ashore. This makes the eggs vulnerable to the waves during high tide. Once damaged by salt water, the eggs will die. Pawikan expert Renato Borja advises the locals to transfer the eggs to a different site which will give them a better chance of hatching. But they must transfer the eggs within a crucial two hour period or the eggs will rot. Under pressure of time, the locals of Apo Island, together with the pawikan expert and the Born team, act quickly to save the offspring of this critically endangered sea turtle.