SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union - Around 100 pawikan hatchlings were released at the shore along Dalumpinas Oeste village in this city on January 6 as part of the continuing pawikan preservation and protection in the area.

The activity was realized through the joint efforts of the Dalumpinas Oeste Eco Rangers (DOERs), the Dalumpinas Oeste Barangay Council, and the residents of the said barangay.

The program started in 2011 with the launching of the Dalumpinas Oeste Pawikan Conservation Program to record and monitor all pawikan sightings and ensure that all eggs are hatched and subsequently released back to the sea.

Awareness programs, capacity-building activities, and incentivization activities soon followed to encourage people to participate and further ensure the maintenance of the pawikan’s number in the area.

To consolidate efforts to preserve the pawikan in the area, a hatchery facility aptly named the Dalumpinas Oeste Pawikan Conservation Center was established in 2016 and the convergence efforts of various stakeholders ensured the continuity of the efforts for the pawikan’s preservation.

Dr. Marvin Munar, the brainchild of this preservation effort, said that the endeavor encourages the support and participation of public and private partners to continue protecting and preserving the pawikans in the area.

“[The convergence efforts of the] Dalumpinas Oeste Barangay Council, the DOERs, [and the barangay community] will foster a whole-of-barangay approach so that the Dalumpinueños will continue to be the vanguards of pawikan in this city,” Munar said.

Munar added that the 100 hatchlings released on Saturday are the most since its program's inception more than a decade ago. (JCR/AMB/CCMT, PIA La Union)