Although The Little Mermaid claims that it is better to live under the sea, I would say this is not the case when it comes to the life of Sea Turtles.
This Turtle week we’re gonna have one shell of a time!
From June 8th-June 16th, we celebrate the third annual Sea Turtle Week which not only highlights a different Sea Turtle species each day but also brings awareness to the biggest threats that they face. The week starts with World Ocean Day on June 8th and continues throughout the rest of the week:
June 8th – World Ocean Day
June 9th – Flatback Turtle Day/Threat -Urban Coastal Developments and Recreation
June 10th – Kemp’s Ridley Day/Threat - Ocean Pollution
June 11th – Olive Ridley Day/Threat - Consumption of Eggs and Meat
June 12th – Loggerhead Day/Threat - Entanglement in Fishing Equipment
June 13th – Hawksbill Day/Threat - Illegal Trade of Turtle Shells
June 14th – Green Turtle Day/Threat - Climate Change
June 15th – Leatherback Day/Threat - Plastic Pollution
June 16th – World Sea Turtle Day
In recent years, the threats against Sea Turtles have rapidly increased with the changes occurring within urban and environmental spaces. This way, it is difficult for some Sea Turtle species to recover their populations to a stable status in the natural environment without human aid. To give some perspective, over the last 30 years, there has been a 90% population decline of Leatherback Turtles in the Pacific Ocean alone. In addition to this, according to The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), there are many human factors such as overfishing, pollution and illegal trading that have influenced the decline in sea turtle populations. Yet, we still see these practices very abundant in many parts around the world.
With this knowledge, you must be wondering, why an entire week of Sea Turtle awareness? There are many species that need our attention and many issues that affect various Sea Turtle species differently. For instance, Leatherback turtles are the most numerous species of Sea Turtles found in Trinidad & Tobago and are very susceptible to ocean pollution. Especially unwanted plastic containers and bags which they often mistaken for jellyfish since it is one of their main sources of food.
What Next?
After this week, the issues and threats surrounding Sea Turtles unfortunately do not stop. We, as a unit, must understand that it takes more action to prevent Sea Turtles from further exploitation and destitute. As of currently, there are many organizations such as The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and PETA, just to name a few, that provide worldwide aid for Sea Turtles and allowing volunteers and charities from various outlets therefore reducing that gap between conservation and practical input. Additionally, you can support these organizations by making a donation or if not, then aid your local organizations and communities to volunteer in active management strategies to protect our Sea Turtles. These strategies can include, turtle watching with conversationalists, to allow baby Sea Turtles a safe voyage back into the water.
Go do what you can for our Sea Turtles because they are important to our ecosystems. So, go tur-tell all your friends about Sea Turtle week!!!
Sources
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/methode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fe7f35d4a-f7ef-11e8-8f64-ec083420809b.jpg?crop=3712%2C2088%2C93%2C537