BY JOHN HOUANIHAU

A tagged Leatherback Turtle has been spotted at Arohane Beach in Makira Province after a seven-year absence.

Romano Haga, a resident of Arohane village, informed Island Sun that the last sighting of a leatherback at the 10-kilometer sandy beach occurred in 1999.

55 years Haga said that Arohane village is situated 7 kilometres east of Kirakira and was historically a breeding site for leatherback turtles.

“It takes a considerable amount of time for leatherbacks to return. They used to come here approximately every two months, but the last sighting was in 1999,” Haga said.

On the night of Saturday, January 11, around 11 PM, a female leatherback turtle came ashore at Arohane Beach and laid over 200 eggs in the sand.

 Haga, a retired teacher, said that the children had only heard stories about the leatherback species until now.

“We have two registered conservation groups in the community, but their focus has primarily been on land and forest conservation,” he explained.

Haga also pointed out that some of the leatherbacks previously observed in the area were significantly larger than the one seen this month.

“Our younger generation is now motivated to protect the species after witnessing it firsthand. That is our current objective,” he said.

Haga added that the turtle arrived on the beach between 11 PM and 1 AM.

“We will make every effort to educate other communities along this 10-kilometre stretch of beach to refrain from harming these species if they are spotted. It is also important to inform the authorities about how they can collaborate with us,” he concluded.