That day It's 4 am,and Danilo C.Dequina is already awake. Holding a flashlight and a bucket, he is walking in the pre-dawn darkness along the shore of Old Poblacion Beach in the town of Maitum,Sarangani,in the far south of the Philippines.  A few minutes later,he spots a patch of sand that appears to have been disturbed by a turtle. Dequina studies the area carefully,figuring out where the eggs have been buried, and then starts digging slowly. After clearing away several centimeters of sand, he uncovers a large group of eggs,roughly the size of ping-pong balls. He picks them up and puts them in the bucket. Dequina carries the eggs to his hatchery  , some 50 meters away from the seashore. The hatchery is really just a sandy patch of land under the coconut trees enclosed by a black fine-mesh fence. It is here that he buries the turtle eggs he has collected. Today,Dequina scoops out a hole,puts the eggs in it,and covers them with sand. After 45 to 70 days, the eggs will hatch. Dequina will then carty the hatchlings to the shore,and release them into the sea. He admits to feeling sorrow as he sets the hatchlings free most are hunted down by natural predators,and just one percent survive to adulthood.  According to the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), eight species of sea turtles face extinction,including four that come to the shores of Sarangani to lay their eggs --the Hawksbill,Olive Ridley,Loggerhead and Green Turtles.  After learning about their  _ , Dequina attended a DENR training session on turtle conservation and decided to take action. He helped the local government to set up the Pawikan Nesting Sanctuary next to his house in 2003. The hatchery drew the attention of the locals. "They started to change their attitudes towards sea turtles,"52-year-old Dequina says. "If they see turtle eggs,they will either bring them to me or inform me of the nesting places." Over the past seven years,more than 3,000 hatch- lings have been released to the ocean. Dequina walks along the shore to  _  .
release small turtles bury turtle eggs deeper find newly laid turtle eggs clear away trash from the seaside