Sea Turtles: Threats & Conservation

Threats to Their Survival

Each year thousands of hatchling turtles emerge from their nests along the southeast U.S. coast and enter the Atlantic ocean. Sadly, only an estimated one in 1,000 to 10,000 will survive to adulthood. The natural obstacles faced by young and adult sea turtles are staggering, but it is the increasing threats caused by humans that are driving them to extinction. Today, all sea turtles found in U.S. waters are federally listed as endangered, except for the loggerhead which is listed as threatened.

Natural Threats

In nature, sea turtles face a host of life and death obstacles to their survival. Predators such as raccoons, crabs and ants raid eggs and hatchlings still in the nest. Once they emerge, hatchlings make bite-sized meals for birds, crabs and a host of predators in the ocean. After reaching adulthood, sea turtles are relatively immune to predation, except for the occasional shark attack. These natural threats, however, are not the reasons sea turtle populations have plummeted toward extinction. To understand what really threatens sea turtle survival, we must look at the actions of humans.

Human-Caused Threats

In many cultures around the world, people still harvest sea turtle eggs for consumption. Most countries forbid the taking of eggs, but enforcement is lax, poaching is rampant, and the eggs can often be found for sale in local markets. In these same areas, adult sea turtles are harvested for their meat. Turtle products, such as jewelry made from hawksbill shells, also create a direct threat to sea turtles. Lack of information about sea turtles leads many Americans to unwittingly support the international trade in these endangered species. Buying and selling turtle products within the U.S. is strictly prohibited by law, but turtle shell jewelry and souvenirs are the most frequent contraband seized by customs officials from tourists returning from the Caribbean. Indirect threats are harder to quantify, but they are likely causing the greatest harm to sea turtle survival.

Commercial Fishing

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico and west Atlantic coast are a major habitat for turtles, but are also the main shrimping grounds in the U.S. Each year, thousands of turtles become entangled in fishing nets and drown. Worldwide, shrimp trawling probably accounts for the incidental death of more juvenile and adult sea turtles than any other source.

At one time, as many as 55,000 sea turtles were killed each year in shrimp nets in the southeastern United States alone. Today, all U.S. shrimpers are required to put Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in their trawl nets. Unfortunately, not all fishermen comply with the law, and sea turtles continue to drown in shrimp nets.

Ingestion of Debris and Plastic

Thousands of sea turtles die from eating or becoming entangled in nondegradable debris each year, including packing bands, balloons, pellets, bottles, vinyl films, tar balls, and styrofoam. Trash, particularly plastic bags thrown overboard from boats or dumped near beaches and swept out to sea, is eaten by turtles and becomes a deadly meal. Leatherbacks especially, cannot distinguish between floating jellyfish — a main component of their diet — and floating plastic bags.

Artificial Lighting

Nesting turtles once had no trouble finding a quiet, dark beach on which to nest, but now they must compete with tourists, businesses and coastal residents for use of the beach. U.S. beaches are rapidly being lined with seaside condominiums, houses and hotels. Lights from these developments discourage females from nesting and cause hatchlings to become disoriented and wander inland, where they often die of dehydration or predation.

Coastal Armoring

Coastal armoring includes structures such as sea walls, rock revetments and sandbags that are installed in an attempt to protect beachfront property from erosion. These structures often block female turtles from reaching suitable nesting habitat and accelerate erosion down the beach. Armoring is especially problematic along the east coast of Florida, where beach development is occurring in the very places where sea turtles come to nest by the thousands.

Beach Nourishment

Beach nourishment consists of pumping, trucking or otherwise depositing sand on a beach to replace what has been lost to erosion. While beach nourishment is often preferable to armoring, it can negatively impact sea turtles if the sand is too compacted for turtles to nest in or if the sand imported is drastically different from native beach sediments, thereby potentially affecting nest-site selection, digging behavior, incubation temperature and the moisture content of nests. If renourishment is allowed to proceed during nesting season, nests can also be buried far beneath the surface or run over by heavy machinery.

Pollution

Pollution can have serious impacts on both sea turtles and the food they eat. New research suggests that a disease now killing many sea turtles (fibropapillomas) may be linked to pollution in the oceans and in nearshore waters. When pollution kills aquatic plant and animal life, it also takes away the food sea turtles eat. Oil spills, urban runoff of chemicals, fertilizers and petroleum all contribute to water pollution.

Although the problems of habitat destruction and exploitation seem almost too big to overcome, there are many things within our control that can be changed. Greater public awareness and support for sea turtle conservation is the first priority. By learning more about sea turtles and the threats they face, you can help by alerting decision-makers when various issues need to be addressed.
 

Conservation Strategies

To truly protect sea turtles around the world, many different countries and cultures must cooperate and share responsibility. International laws and agreements, research, and the work of dedicated organizations and individuals each must play a part. Long-term protection of sea turtles also means developing solutions that reduce reliance on management methods requiring direct human involvement -- such as moving nests or raising hatchlings in captivity. If sea turtles can not survive and reproduce on their own, without help from humans, then they are doomed. Feeding and nesting grounds must be protected, and a public wildlife conservation ethic must be fostered that can withstand gaps in government regulations, pressure from private interests, and changes in the political climate.

National Laws

Sea turtles are given legal protection in the United States and its waters under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which lists the hawksbill, leatherback, Kemp’s ridley and green turtle as endangered; the loggerhead is listed as threatened. This designation makes it illegal to harm, harass or kill any sea turtles, hatchlings or their eggs. It is also illegal to import, sell, or transport turtles or their products. In the United States, the National Marine Fisheries Service has jurisdiction over sea turtles in the water, while the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for them on land. Other countries have their own conservation laws and regulations that apply to sea turtles.

International Agreements

Some regulations affecting sea turtles are global in scope. The "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species" (CITES) controls international trade in endangered and threatened species. Sea turtles are covered under Appendix I of this agreement and receive protection from international trade by all countries that have signed the treaty.

State and Local Protection

In many states where sea turtles nest, state laws have been passed to protect the species. These laws meet or exceed the requirements of the ESA. In Florida for instance, the Marine Turtle Protection Act was passed giving state agencies the power to enforce regulations protecting turtles and their habitat. Some local governments have passed regulations to eliminate or control artificial beachfront lighting, which is known to deter females from nesting and disorient hatchlings.

Conservation Goals

The threats facing sea turtles are numerous and, for the most part, humans are the problem. For those of us trying to protect sea turtles, it is a mixed blessing that so many threats are human-caused. On one hand, it is very hard to change human behavior. On the other hand, at least there is hope for eliminating threats. If sea turtles were going extinct because of geological or climatic changes, there would be very little we could do to help.

Some immediate goals for protecting sea turtles include:

What to Do if You Encounter A Nesting Sea Turtle

In Florida and other states where sea turtles nest, turtle watches are conducted by trained and permitted individuals. The goal is to educate people about sea turtles through direct contact, without disturbing the turtles. If you are interested in going on a turtle walk, you can call Sea Turtle Survival League at (352) 373-6441 for a list of guides near you. Sometimes people encounter sea turtles on their own while walking on the beach at night during nesting season.

If this happens to you, here are some simple rules to follow: