ECO PRO continued
Marine turtles are endangered or threatened in many parts of the world. Estimates based on nesting activity suggest there are approximately 50,000 loggerheads, 35,000 leatherbacks, 25,000 hawksbills, 90,000 green turtles, and 7,000 Kemp’s ridleys remaining worldwide. Olive ridleys are more numerous, with estimates around 800,000, while Australia’s flatbacks number about 21,000. Even with these estimates, all sea turtle species remain vulnerable to habitat loss, fishing activity, pollution, climate change, and continued human distur- bance. Is there hope? Yes, but only if human behavior changes. We can stop eating turtles and their eggs. We can reduce boat strikes by operating responsibly in turtle habitats. We can remove ghost nets and fishing lines. We can reduce plastic waste before it reaches the ocean. We can better manage beach lighting, protect nesting areas, and support science- based conservation programs. It is turtle mating season now off Florida’s shores. Vast
numbers of turtles will migrate long distances, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of miles, to arrive off the beaches where they hatched. Why do they return? They cannot do otherwise. How do they find their way? Science has only recently begun to explain it. Years ago, I found a dead turtle hatchling on the beach. It had not made it to the ocean and died when day broke and the sun scorched it. I placed the hatchling in a pail of water, took a magnet, and moved it around the pail. Magnetic crystals in the turtle’s brain are believed to help imprint its birthplace and guide its return. What a remarkable mystery of life. A turtle hatches from a
nest, enters the ocean, drifts through vast seas for years, and, if it survives, may one day return to the same region where its life began. That alone should be enough to remind us that marine turtles are worth protecting.
email John
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