Sea Turtle Populations: Report Reveals The Most Threatened Regions

Sea turtles be warned: A new report has found nesting sites in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are some of the most dangerous places in the world for you to be.

Published in the online science journal PLoS ONE this week, the study is the first to assess individual sea turtle populations around the world to determine which are the healthiest and which are the most threatened.

According to the report produced by IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, four of the seven sea turtle species have populations within the world's 11 most threatened.

Dr. Bryan Wallace, Director of Science for the Marine Flagship Species Program at Conservation International told The Huffington Post, "One of the strengths of our report is that it gives managers and conservationists a look under the hood of the scores, at what is the driver of the scores. Then they can figure out what the major threats are and address them."

To determine the most threatened populations of the seven species of sea turtles, experts scored traits that determine if sea turtles are more vulnerable to threats. These included population size, population trends, nesting sites, and genetic diversity. Wallace said major threats to sea turtles included fisheries and consumption. "India still has an enormous trawl issue, which contributes to turtle bycatch and there is still a lot of consumption of turtles and their eggs," he said.

"Until this report, we could only see how sea turtles were doing globally. Now we have an assessment on all of their populations," Wallace said. "Ultimately what it provides is a prioritization framework. It provides the best, most holistic perspective to help maximize resources and work to recover populations."

Wallace said the findings of the healthy turtle populations were exciting because it showed they were recovering. "It's not like healthy populations somehow missed out on being threatened. They represent a population that has been depleted and recovered. For example, in Brazil, green turtles are on the rise. So there are lessons being learned, like monitoring nesting beaches. In Australia, Japan, Brazil and the U.S. populations have all increased in the last decade or more." He added, "It is kind of a slow process, but if we take a page from their book -- slow and steady wins the race."

So, according to the report, if you are a sea turtle, you are probably better off sticking around the waters of Australia, Brazil or Mexico, where some of the healthiest sea turtle populations can be found.

Take a look at where you can find the world's healthiest and most threatened sea turtle populations:

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Comments

[Tulka2]

10:18 PM on 10/01/2011

Look for my next incarnation as a sea turtle in Sri Lanka.  Bliss.

[BuckyJamesDio]

08:50 PM on 10/01/2011

On a vacation in Costa Azul, Mexico, we were fortunate to be there during a hatching. It was incredible to see hundreds of tiny turtles crawling to the surf. One little fellow seemed to have a hard time following the moonlight, so with permission from the guy who oversaw the hatchings, I helped guide the wanderer to the surf with my flashlight. It was an amazing thing to experience.

[Tulka2]

10:23 PM on 10/01/2011

Did you know most zoos don't keep sea turtles very long?  Because the turtles are always following the migration even in captivity.  They will rub their noses off swimming in one direction against the side of the pool.  So every few years, they release the ones they have and import wild ones.  I like it that they are doing what they are born to do even when they are captives.

[GraphicMatt]

11:39 AM on 09/30/2011

Years ago I lived across the street from the beach in S. Florida. One night a lady friend and I were on the beach enjoying a bottle of wine when we noticed movement all over the beach around us. A nest full of baby sea turtles had hatched. We just sat there in complete wonder and joy as we watched them make their way down to the ocean. One of the happier experiences in my life to have witnessed.

[Tulka2]

10:19 PM on 10/01/2011

You deserve to have someone make you a sandwich.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

08:17 AM on 09/30/2011

sea turtles are gentle and precious beings.
i wish there were more
we were seeing

[singsingsing]

06:39 AM on 09/30/2011

I read nothing of the Kemp's ridley in this story. while 2011 appears to be an up year in the Gulf of Mexico (northern Mexico and south Texas) with nest numbers in the mid 20k range, concern for the roughly half of nesting females returning next year is critical as they have been eating the Blue crab off Louisiana that have been "oiled" by the blowout. Also, ANYTHING, even vaguely positive about the Leatherback in the Pacific is silly. The population for this (the largest reptile by weight in the world) is facing extinction in the next couple of years.
A WWF study in 2010 put their number at about 2300, down from 100k 10 years ago.. The Pacific longliners and all the floating plastic out there are going to finish them off. And one other thing, most scientists consider an 8th species, the Pacific Black sea turtle, (it doesn't even look much like a Green) and their numbers are only about 10k.

[Rosalee Harris]

05:31 PM on 09/29/2011

Sea turtles are so purty. They are my favorite reptile.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

08:17 AM on 09/30/2011

and so gentle

[Cactusman]

04:53 PM on 09/29/2011

The only thing I wish about these slideshows is that in the full screen mode, I didn't have to constantly keep my mouse moving so that I can read the text accompanying the photo. If I stop moving it then the text disappears within a couple of seconds. Isn't there a way to improve this?

Otherwise, great photos.

[lambdin1]

01:30 PM on 09/29/2011

I noticed that the United States was not rated. Probably because Republican and Tea Party people live here.

[Andrew Harvey]

10:54 PM on 09/29/2011

Oh give it a rest.

[kwaut lizard]

12:42 PM on 09/29/2011

These articles do not come across as very authoritative when there is no mention whatsoever of the two most endangered sea turtle species: Kemp's Ridley and the Flatback.

[bpwallace]

03:49 PM on 09/29/2011

RT kwuat lizard. Actually, Kemp's ridleys and flatbacks were assessed just like every other sea turtle species and population, and while they have geographically restricted ranges - which is presumably why you assume that they are the most endangered - other factors were also considered that resulted in them not being included among the most endangered populations in the world.

If you have time to dig deeper into the actual report, and not just the news article, you'll find plenty of info about risk factors and threats to these species and their populations.

Thanks for your interest.

[kwaut lizard]

05:19 AM on 09/30/2011

Not just geographically restricted ranges, but also comparatively small population sizes and limited nesting areas. The western race of Olive or Kemp's Ridleys and Flatbacks are more vulnerable to stochastic events: typhoons, storms, tidal waves, coastal erosion, sea level rises, ... and human effects: oil spills, coastal development, excessive tourism, poaching, ....

As Flatback ranges are limited to the regions most developed nation's highly protected beaches does not lessen vulnerability. Almost the entire nesting range was recently threatened by the Montara oil well blowout. The Australian government sewed the operator PTTEP Australasia (PTTEPAA) just to gain access to the in-house oil spill report. Pilots that flew this oil well's spill informed me that well over 90,000 square kilometers of the Arafura Sea clearly exhibited oil sheen, evidences the company lied about the amount of oil spilled. In fact, The Australian Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism estimated that the Montara oil leak could be as high as 2,000 barrels (320 m3)/day, five times the 400 barrels (64 m3)/day estimated by PTTEP Australasia.

Flatback's nesting beaches are from Exmouth in Western Australia to Mon Repos Conservation Park, this one catastrophe threatens well over 70% of the entire nesting range and probably greater than over 90% of actual nests, as nesting densities are greater towards its less disturbed westernmost nesting range. This is why exclusion of the Flatback Turtle is a gross oversight. Attention to western populations of Kemp's (Olive) Ridleys and Loggerhead populations is commendable.

[kwaut lizard]

05:31 AM on 09/30/2011

Flatbacks (Natator depressus) were actually not assessed like every other sea turtle species but are simply passed over in the report as Data Deficient. So, although Flatbacks are considered data deficient within this report, this one catastrophe clearly threatens this species conservation status within its distinct marine turtle Regional Management Units (RMUs).

The methodology as a model for conservation status assessments and priority-setting for widespread, long-lived taxa is good but simply not comprehensive yet.