Dr Ccile Gaspar of French Polynesia asks:
Q: What is the situation of green, hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles in the world? A: Sea turtles are among the most threatened, yet poorly understood creatures of the ocean, says Roderic Mast, Vice President at Conservation International and Director of CIs Sea Turtle Flagship Program. All but one of the world's seven species of sea turtles are considered Endangered or Critically Endangered on the
2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species."
Sea turtles have long been a part of coastal peoples diets wherever the animals occur, and hunting remains a substantial threat to green sea turtles (
Chelonia mydas) in many areas. The shell of the hawksbill turtle (
Eretmochelys imbricata) was once prized by the fashion industry for its characteristic tortoise shell pattern. Additional threats to sea turtles and their habitats come from marine pollution (especially ingestible plastics), industrial fishing, and coastal development, including beach lighting, which affects turtles nesting, feeding, and migratory habitats.
The
numbers of Pacific leatherback turtles (
Dermochelys coriacea) that nest on beaches from Mexico south to Panama have been drastically reduced by years of uncontrolled egg collection and a dramatic increase in their incidental capture by fisheries. In the June 2000 issue of
Nature, scientists reported that the population of leatherbacks nesting at
Playa Grande, Costa Rica had dwindled by more than 90 percent in just a decade. Off the Pacific coast of Mexico, fewer than 100 remain.
Our success in
conserving turtles hinges on preserving the ecosystems that support them the sea itself, says Mast. Sea turtles are flagship
species for the
sea they help us
communicate to the public about the complexities of marine conservation."