Alane Lim is a materials science researcher at Northwestern University's Huang Lab. Enter your email address to get the best tips and advice. Bonus: It's a do-good activity that you can participate in at a safe six-foot distance! And for ways to make your home eco-friendly, check out 30 Easy Ways to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly. In honor of World Turtle Day on May 23, it's the perfect time to be reminded of all the things you can do to help protect these creatures. We are currently finalizing our upcoming webinars and will post the schedule here when ready. You can also avoid other single-use items, like balloons during a birthday beach bash, which will likely end up in the ocean where they will be eaten by turtles and other wildlife. https://www.seeturtles.org/help-save-turtles Don't approach sea turtles when they come up to land. Instinctively, they follow the brightest direction to find their way to the water, but if they are disoriented by artificial lighting, they may wander inland and die of dehydration or predation. After a 2-year beach cleanup in Miami that removed over 11 million pounds of trash from the environment, olive ridley turtle hatchlings were spotted making their way from the nest to the ocean, which had not occurred in decades. "You can directly help turtles by refusing single-use plastic, using reusable alternatives to plastic bags and containers, voting to ban plastics, and picking up trash at your local beach or waterway.". How to save a sea turtle while on ... green and hawksbill turtles during her 10-day Swimming with Sea Turtles in the Bahamas expedition at ... not be able to engage with them in any way. Sea turtles have lived on Earth for about 110 million years. If sea turtles become extinct, both the marine and beach ecosystems will weaken and have harmful effects. "Plastic and marine debris are a major problem for sea turtles," he says. Sea turtles have very attractive shells that are worth much money. "The best option is to turn exterior lights off during the nesting season—usually May through September—but sea turtle-friendly bulbs and fixtures are also available," explains Godfrey, whose Sea Turtle Conservancy created a video on the topic and runs a beachfront lighting program. Never pick up a hatchling. Be a volunteer Sea turtle conservation ambassador with Tortugas de Pacuare in Quepos, Costa Rica. If you do see disoriented baby turtles at night, do not take it upon yourself to move the turtles. However, due to human activity, 6 of the 7 sea turtle species—green, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, flatback, hawksbill, and leatherback—are now classified as endangered. This effort extends to those who like to fish themselves, as well. You can also “adopt a nest” during nesting season. Even if you don't live near major turtle habitats, that doesn't mean you can't do your part to help in the efforts to protect sea turtles. If … If you see one crossing the road, it's often a female looking for a nesting site.". They simply give up on laying their eggs. That’s more than 1,300 fewer than the estimate for the 2016 proposal. And while that campaign has been surprisingly effective, it's just the tip of the iceberg—or should we say, the peak of the mountain of garbage—when it comes to plastic refuse endangering sea turtles. "Many organizations that directly work with sea turtles rely on volunteers to accomplish their work," says Bandimere. Sea creatures, including turtles, mistake garbage and plastic as food which can harm them and even cause death. 10 Best Possible Ways to Help to save the sea turtle in Costa Rica. And remember to collect all of your fishing gear and supplies once you're done, especially fishing line, hooks, and nets. For example, Bandimere suggests that "you can make an impact on climate change by voting for politicians and policies that support emission reductions, eating less meat, walking and biking more, and buying ethically made, higher quality products instead of higher quantities of lower quality items. Stanford also suggests financially supporting the Turtle Survival Alliance and the Turtle Conservancy. Both can alter your immune response in the long run. SEE Turtles is beginning a monthly webinar series, starting in November with our 10 Ways To Save Sea Turtles Webinar. A moving boat can seriously injure or kill a turtle, so stay alert if you are boating in the ocean. Choose seafood caught in ways that do not harm or kill turtles. If they are close to your boat, put your engine on neutral or turn it off until the turtles swim away. This one might seem obvious—we all try to avoid hitting animals when we're driving—but because turtles are slow moving, low to the ground, and often travel at night, they can be particularly easy to overlook until it's too late. Sailors from the USS Thorn use bolt cutters and knives to free the only surviving sea turtle in a group of four found tangled in some long-ago discarded netting, July 10, 2001 in the Mediterranean Sea. A new study finds heat can be effective against it. You can help prevent trash from ever entering the ocean in the first place by recycling and reducing the amount of trash that you create. You can help educate your local neighborhood or school by giving presentations, and tell people about the cause during conversations. The shells of endangered tortoises and turtles are big business throughout the international black market. All the various organizations cited in this article are doing worthy work to help protect turtle populations, and they could use your financial support. 10 years to save 'world’s most threatened sea turtle' ... Leatherbacks are the largest of all sea turtles, weighing up to 2,000lb (900kg) ... UK leading the way in use of language-learning apps. Six out of seven sea turtle species are endangered and only as few as 1 in 1,000 eggs will survive to an adult turtle. When you're trying to catch some dinner for yourself, be sure you aren't leaving behind anything that can damage the sea turtles that share the habitat, like fishing line. Hof points to WWF-Australia's Rivers to Reef to Turtles project, which identifies the chemicals that pollute Australia's rivers and the Great Barrier Reef. By limiting your use of plastic products, straws, one time use containers, etc. There are many ways you can help save and preserve sea turtle as a volunteer. There are countless ways in which you can make a positive difference in the lives of sea turtles. Global warming can skew the gender ratios of sea turtles, as well as the distribution of predators and prey. "As sea levels rise, we are also seeing major impacts to nesting habitats. If staying at a beachfront property, be sure to turn off all lights at night. Sea turtles often become the "bycatch" of irresponsible fishing methods. For centuries, people hunt Hawksbill sea turtles for their beautiful gold and brown shells to create jewelry and other luxury items. Support sea turtle conservation efforts by “adopting a sea turtle” or making a donation to a wildlife conservation program that monitors and helps satellite-tracked turtles. "If you live near or are visiting a beach, how about conducting or participating in a beach cleanup? If you're hosting a socially distant beachfront barbecue or birthday party, skip the helium balloons. Godfrey suggests that anyone looking to help save sea turtles should start with their lawn products. One main way is through education. Avoid all forms of artificial light while at the beach at night, including flashlights, flash photography, video cameras, and fires on nesting beaches. Bestlifeonline.com is part of the Meredith Health Group. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch website and app allow you to look up specific types of seafood and determine if they were responsibly sourced. Looking at a turtle and its tough shell, you might think that these animals are pretty good at protecting themselves. The Oceanic Society offers a step-by-step guide–as does the World Wildlife Fund—to ensure you are buying and consuming seafood that has been sustainably sourced, and that no sea turtles were harmed in getting the fish to your table. Stanford suggests that if you spot one on the road, pick her up and move her to the side of the road she was heading toward. 1. Join a sea turtle conservation tour! Many local groups organize such cleanups year-round, or you can organize a beach clean-up day with some friends. It was a disturbing video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck in its nostril that sparked the movement to ban plastic straws. Be a volunteer ambassador to Save Leatherback Turtles in Limon, Costa Rica. And SEE Turtles' Sea Turtle Emergency Fund supports community-based projects around the world. Remove your trash (and trash left by others) and any obstacles that may become hazards for nesting sea turtles and hatchlings like beach furniture, holes, and sandcastles. By Lucy Hicks Oct. 5, 2020 , 11:00 AM. The next one will be in … ", Consider donating some time on World Turtle Day—or any day, for that matter—to helping sea turtles. 6. 3. 2 Minute Read. "Make an effort not to hit turtles seen on the road. "Road mortality is a major problem for turtle populations," explains Craig Stanford, professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the University of Southern California. Here are 10 ways you can help save the turtles, according to turtle conservation experts. Doing so will also stop more trash from entering the oceans, reducing the chances that a turtle may become trapped or eat it. "You can help to guide fishing industries towards more turtle-friendly practices by consuming sustainably caught seafood," urges Ashleigh Bandimere, sea turtle program coordinator for the Oceanic Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging individuals to help in ocean conservation efforts. Godfrey adds: "If you know of a group planning a balloon release, ask them to consider another attention getter.". And for more suggestions on how to help out vulnerable animals, check out 17 Small Things You Can Do to Help Endangered Species. You may have heard of the term "light pollution," but for sea turtles, light can literally be deadly. "Everything ends up in the ocean and turtles are ingesting not only plastics but accumulating the chemicals as well," Hof urges. Contact a nature conservancy organization or local authorities. And it may close all of its retail locations. Removing trash and plastic from our beaches is good for sea turtles, shorebirds, and us." But they are far more vulnerable than many realize, with their populations decimated in recent decades by human activity and changes in environmental conditions. Here are 10 ways you can help save the turtles, according to turtle conservation experts. Educating yourself about endangered species and wildlife conservation can make a big impact. you can help improve the ocean and the turtles’ home and food supply. ... Avoid purchasing items such as coral jewelry, tortoiseshell hair accessories (made from hawksbill turtles), and shark products. If you find yourself close to a sea turtle on the beach, don't make any sudden movements and slowly move away from the turtle. Organize a clean-up day with your friends and clear the beach of litter, give a presentation to your neighborhood or local school on things they can do to save sea turtles, and most importantly, talk to others about what they can do to make sure they "The combination of the loss of income and help covering nesting beaches from international volunteers and travelers with increased desperation for food and income is resulting in increased turtle egg collection and hunting." 10 Things You Can Do to Save the Ocean. Through this program, we also provide round-the-clock protection to Nicaragua’s most important nesting beach for the green sea turtle. Sea turtles, also called marine turtles, are air-breathing reptiles with streamlined bodies and large flippers. "When traveling, ask vendors what souvenirs are made of and when in doubt, don't purchase items in question," urges Nahill. 17 Small Things You Can Do to Help Endangered Species, disturbing video of a sea turtle with a straw stuck, switching plastic bags for reusable cloth bags, professor of biological sciences and anthropology, 30 Easy Ways to Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly. Join us for Sea Turtle Week, June 10-16, 2019, to celebrate these spectacular marine animals. Experts say these small changes can make a big difference for the environment. In addition, organizations like Too Rare to Wear also have information on products that have been made from turtle shells, like jewelry and souvenirs, which are often sold to tourists in tropical regions. The COVID-19 pandemic, '' but for sea turtles. `` the critically endangered hawksbill and Leatherback turtles. More information from the WWF. `` make an effort not to hit turtles seen on the beach only but. 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