“Save the Turtles!” Green sea turtles, once considered on the brink of extinction, are now classified as endangered in several regions after decades of conservation efforts aimed at protecting nesting beaches and reducing human threats.
For two decades, green sea turtles were heavily hunted for their meat and eggs, and many nesting areas were destroyed by coastal development and tourism. Fishing operations also accidentally trapped turtles in nets, further reducing populations. As population numbers declined, conservation groups and governments began creating laws and protected areas to help the population recover.
The turtle population decreased significantly between 1950 and 1970 because of the over-harvest, according to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services.
Conservation programs around the world helped protect nesting beaches, regulate fishing practices and limit illegal trade. Over time, these efforts allowed turtle populations to slowly recover. Major nesting populations are now stable or increasing in areas such as Costa Rice, Mexico, and Australia, according to Environmental Research.
Marine biology teacher Amanda Caffrey said recovery efforts only succeeded because people began to care.
“100% just people caring. If people don’t care, nothing happens,” Caffrey said.
She explained that turtles face many threats throughout their lives, especially from accidental capture in fishing equipment, known as bycatch. In the past, turtles trapped underwater in nets often drowned because they could not reach the surface to breathe. New fishing technologies and conservation rules have helped reduce these accidental deaths.
Turtle excluder devices were made as a solution to problems getting caught in nets and drowning. An attachment is placed within fishing nets to allow small fish and shrimp to pass through, but it leaves an opening specifically made for turtles to get released according to NOAA Fisheries.
Caffrey also noted that protecting nesting beaches is critical because turtles return to the breaths in where they were born to lay eggs. When beaches become crowded with tourists or covered with artificial lights, turtles may avoid nesting or hatchlings can become disoriented and move away from the ocean.
Climate change adds another challenge. Sea turtle gender is determined by sand temperature, meaning warmer beaches produce more female hatchlings. If temperatures continue rising, populations could struggle because fewer males are born.
“If you don’t have males, “ Caffrey explained, “then populations can’t repopulate.”
Even with improvements, turtles are not completely safe. Pollution, plastic waste, coastal development, and climate change still threaten their survival. Caffrey emphasized that recovery can quickly reverse if protection efforts make a complete stop.
“If people stop caring or laws aren’t enforced, populations can decline again,” she said. 
Caffrey also said public education plays a major role in protecting marine species because people are more likely to help when they understand the problem. Our County, San Luis Obispo County, follows the state’s MPA’s (Marine Protected Area) laws. These laws followed an act passed in 1999 with the intention of protecting native marine life in California according to The California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The recovery of green sea turtles shows conservation efforts can work when governments, scientists and communities cooperate. However continued protection and awareness is necessary to keep sea turtles and help other threatened marine species recover as well.
