We have a chance to save green sea turtles

Green sea turtles are having a tough time staying afloat.

Human activity is disturbing their nesting grounds on the beach. They’re losing important habitat on land and at sea. Water pollution is killing the seagrass they eat. Out in the open ocean, fishing nets in advertantly catch and sometimes drown them. 

To better protect the many threatened and endangered populations of green sea turtles, we must do more to protect their habitats.

Thankfully, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed just that – new rules to protect habitat on land. And the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposed new rules for habitat at sea. Working together, these agencies can protect this species.

Artificial light and baby sea turtles

Right from the git-go, these turtles have it hard. One surprising threat comes from artificial light, which disorients the baby turtles.

Who could argue that one of nature’s most amazing feats of survival is that of a newly hatched sea turtle ambling its way to the ocean, following the moonlight across the sand into the waves? 

It can’t be easy for baby turtles to traverse their way across the sand, especially when predators wait to snatch them up. But we’ve made it even more challenging for them with bright lights that disrupt their natural ability to navigate by moonlight. 

We need stronger restrictions at beaches where turtles nest to ensure that baby turtles reach their finish line at the shore.

On the endangered species list

Historically, sea turtles were killed for their meat and eggs, which led to their initial declines and landed them on the endangered species list. That’s now illegal in the U.S., but a long list of other human activities still threaten sea turtles along our coastlines. 

Fishing nets, boat strikes, marine debris, plastic pollution, bright lighting, the loss of seagrass, degraded habitats and more all work in concert to threaten this species.  

But we can fix or address much of the damage we’re causing to the species, and we’re fully onboard with the Biden administration’s proposed rules that protect habitats for green sea turtles along the U.S. coastline. 

Let’s get this done. It’s essential to the conservation of the species.