Let's Change the Conversation on Sea Turtles

I hear a lot these days about how bad things are -- the oceans are warmer, the pH is changing, the fisheries are crashing and sea turtle nesting is decreasing... I think it's time to stop focusing on the negative and look at the good things. Let's talk about recovery not extinction.

Sea turtles were first protected in the Atlantic Basin in Bermuda in legislation from..... The effort was not successful and Bermuda lost it's nesting population. To this day, there are still no green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) that nest on the islands, though they are present on the foraging grounds. These feeding turtles are from other nesting grounds, but like the sea grass beds in Bermuda. Maybe someday, they'll return to nest there again too.

Elsewhere, sea turtles have been granted increasing protection since the US Endangered Species Act of 1973. Until that time, turtles were killed while nesting, hunted for food, killed as by-catch in other fisheries and further diminished, to a great extent, by large-scale egg harvest. Turtles were on the decline, and we didn't know all the reasons why. We still don't but we know enough to make a difference, and we are making that difference.

TEDS are a huge improvement that have helped fishermen and turtles alike. TEDs help sea turtles escape from shrimp nets, in which they used to drown by the hundreds. TEDs also eliminate a lot of other by-catch, and shrimpers have learned to like them. Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Sally Murphy, the nets are larger than they were a few years ago and now allow even adult turtles to escape the nets. That's good news for turtles all around -- the adults are so important as they create the next generations.

Depending on the species, it may take a turtle more than 35 years to reach maturity. Once reaching adulthood, turtles have been known to nest for over 25 years. Each adult lost then, is a huge loss for the species, each adult saved, a huge success.