Every 16 June we celebrate World Sea Turtle Day. The date coincides with the birth of Archie Carr, whose research and conservation efforts helped save sea turtles from near extinction. But still today the threat remains. Six of the seven known species of sea turtles are in danger of extinction –after 110 million years navigating our oceans, sea turtles could actually disappear.

Their extinction would also be catastrophic for many marine ecosystems. Sea turtles are considered a keystone species, which means they are essential to the balance of several ecosystems. In other words: our oceans need sea turtles to stay healthy.

What are the risk factors for sea turtles?
Only one in one thousand sea turtles survive until adulthood. The very path from the nest to the shore is plagued with threats, and those that do make it to the water are still in danger from illegal and accidental fishing, animal trafficking and pollution.

Furthermore, recent research suggests that sea turtles are facing issues even before they are born. And not only because of the expansion of cities into coastal areas, which limits and pollutes their nesting sites, but because of climate change.

• The rise in temperatures caused by climate change is causing an increase in the number of female turtles that are born. This is because the temperature of the sand where mothers bury their eggs has an impact on the sex of the hatchlings: warmer sand means more female turtles. This is causing a crisis in turtle populations and impacting their ability to reproduce.
  
• Nesting sites are disappearing. Sea turtles normally return to nest at the beach where they were born, but the increase in extreme climate events (like hurricanes and storms) and sea level rise put these areas at risk.
  
• Higher temperatures can also cause changes in marine currents, which could in turn impact the migration patterns of sea turtles; because of this, they could start nesting in new areas even less suited to the hatchlings’ survival.

Local solutions with global potential
Most sea turtle species choose beaches in the Gulf of Mexico to nest, or in the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. Which is why a lot of conservation efforts are focused on these particular areas: to ensure the survival of the nests and hatchlings.

In Costa Rica, the Tortugas Preciosas organization covers the 7 kilometers of Preciosa beach periodically in search of turtle nests. The idea is to find and relocate the nests that could be in potentially dangerous areas, whether because they are too close to the coastline or too exposed to looters.

Also in Costa Rica, but on the Caribbean coast, the research and conservation project of Reserva Pacuare is helping protect sea turtle nests from these types of threats. They also head education and information campaigns that involve the locals in conservation efforts, and teach them why it’s important that they don’t steal turtle eggs or fish sea turtles. 

There are also plenty of similar conservation efforts in Mexico, since six of the seven species of sea turtles nest there. But, in this case, the government is also involved: they have officially declared 17 nesting beaches as Natural Protected Areas. The objective is to limit pollution and human impact in general in these areas where we know that sea turtles come to nest; this, in turn, should increase the hatchlings’ potential of survival.

These types of solutions might seem very local, but they can have a significant impact in the survival of sea turtles, which in turn has a positive effect on the health of our marine ecosystems and our oceans in general.