Jack Ratkovich - Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Image taken from National Geographic

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of snorkeling off the beaches of Maui, which eventually evolved into a passion for scuba diving. The draw for me was never the dozens of colorful fish that I would see. Rather, it was the sea turtles that excited me every time I saw them swimming beside or beneath me, and though it never seemed as though the turtles felt threatened by me, I often had to remind myself not to pet them. Green sea turtles are majestic, docile creatures that glide through the water as though they were flying, which is why I was heartbroken to discover that they are endangered, and that their population is only declining further with each passing year.

Image taken from the World Wildlife Fund

Curiously, the green turtle is not named so for its shell, but rather for their green cartilage and fat. In fact, the color of their shells can vary, and they are referred to by an alternate common name, “black turtle”, by locals in areas where their shells are darker, such as the Eastern Pacific (WWF). They typically grow no larger than 4 feet, and they have been known to weigh up to 440 pounds (FWS). Adult green turtle shells are smooth, heart-shaped, and light to dark brown with a light yellow plastron (FWS). With the exception of migration periods, green turtles usually spend their time in shallow waters near reefs and lagoons (FWS). Because of their diet, green turtles can often be found in and around shoals with lush marine grass meadows and plenty of algae (FWS), as they are the only herbivorous species of sea turtle (WWF).  Green turtles lay their eggs at night upon open, undisturbed beaches with varying seasons and at varied intervals ranging 2 to 4 years on average, and they typically nest upon the same beach on which they hatched every time they nest, migrating long distances to travel between feeding grounds and nesting grounds (FWS). In one nesting season, a single female might produce up to 9 clutches consisting of 75 to 200 eggs each, meaning a single female could potentially lay up to 1800 eggs in a single season (FWS). 

Habitat of the Green Sea Turtle
Taken from the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The green turtle dwells in warm, tropical and subtropical oceanic waters worldwide, including the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean (IUCN). However, despite inhabiting the waters of over 140 countries, their species is in decline throughout all major ocean basins, and they are currently listed by the Fish and Wildlife Service and by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as endangered (FWS, IUCN). Initially categorized as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in 1982, the green turtle was again listed in 1986, 1988, 1990, 1994, and 1996 (IUCN). Primarily as a result of overharvesting of eggs, the poaching of nesting females, and the hunting of adults and juveniles in feeding grounds, the number of nesting female green turtles has declined 48-67% in the last three generations (IUCN). Tens of thousands of green turtles are poached annually for their meat and parts, and egg harvesting, despite its devastating effect on the green turtle population, remains legal in some countries (IUCN). Secondary reasons for decline include bycatch by shrimp trawls, longline hooks, and fishing gillnets, habitat degradation at nesting grounds and foraging areas due to human development, disease, and artificial lighting, which disorients hatchlings, causing them to head inland instead of going out to sea and making them vulnerable to predation (WWF). 

Recovery Plan:

Due to the vast migratory ranges of the green sea turtle, the U.S. Pacific Sea Turtle Recovery Team works exclusively in areas that are within U.S. jurisdiction, which poses major challenges to conservation efforts. The Fish and Wildlife Service recovery plan for these magnificent creatures includes eight necessary actions:

1. “Stop the direct harvest of green sea turtles and eggs through education and law enforcement actions.”
2. “Eliminate the threat of fibropapillomas to green turtle populations.”
3. “Reduce incidental harvest of green turtles by commercial and artisanal fisheries.”
4. “Determine population size and status through regular nesting beach and in-water censuses.”
5. Identify stock home ranges using DNA analysis."
6. “Support conservation and biologically viable management of green turtle populations in countries that share U.S. green turtle stocks.”
7. “Identify and protect primary nesting and foraging areas for the species.”
8. “Eliminate adverse effects of development on green turtle nesting and foraging habitats” (FWS).

How can I help?

There are a number of ways you can help save the green sea turtle. 

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
1. We’ve all heard of “the Three R’s” of environmentalism, and the importance behind them cannot be overstated. By reducing garbage waste and picking up trash on the beach, you might be saving a turtle from entanglement or from mistaking trash for food. Also, reduce chemical usage at home, as they can be be carried to coastal waters via rain.
2. Turn Off Lights Near the Beach
1. Because sea turtle hatchlings navigate to the water via moonlight, they are disoriented and confused by artificial lighting, and as a result might never find their way to water. Also, artificial lights may prevent adult females from nesting.
3. Be Aware of Nesting Grounds
1. While one might be tempted to approach a turtle that is sitting on the beach, this could disturb nesting or impede hatchlings from reaching the ocean.
4. Adopt a Sea Turtle
1. Provide funds for the conservation effort of sea turtles. And if saving the turtles isn’t incentive enough, a donation to the World Wildlife Fund comes with a nifty plush toy and some other cool gear. 
2. https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/gifts/Species-Adoptions/Sea-Turtle.aspx?sc=AWY1705OQ18316A01275RX&_ga=1.214088023.1557542844.1475803128
5. Be Active!
1. Volunteer. Organize a beach clean-up with your friends. Educate people your peers.  Do a school project on the green sea turtle (maybe even a blog? Just spitballing here). 

For more on what you can do for sea turtles, visit:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/

http://www.defenders.org/

Works Cited

"Green Turtle." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016. 

Recovery Plan for U.S. Pacific Populations of the Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas). Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1998. ECOS. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Web. 26 Nov. 2016. 

Seminoff, J.A. "Support the." Chelonia Mydas (Green Turtle). International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2016

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife. "Species Profile for Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas)." Species Profile for Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016. 

"The Things You Can Do With Little Lithium." Chemical & Engineering News 35.49 (1957): 82. Defenders of Wildlife. Defenders of Wildlife. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. 

"Turtle Gifts When You Donate to WWF." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Seminoff, J.A. (Southwest Fisheries Science Center, U.S.). 2004.  Chelonia mydas. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T4615A11037468.