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Sea Turtle Populations Soared by 980% After Legal Protections: Report
"We should celebrate the act's track record of reducing harms." Why Global Citizens Should Care
The Endangered Species Act has a strong track record of protecting endangered animals, a core tenet of both Global Goal 14 and 15. As marine habitats around the world deteriorate due to climate change and other factors, the ESA can help to reverse the decline of various species. You can join us in taking action on this issue here.
When animal habitats are protected, animals tend to thrive. That’s the simple yet groundbreaking conclusion of a new report analyzing the effect of the United States’ Endangered Species Act (ESA) on marine animals, published in the academic journal PLOS One. A team of researchers looked at 31 marine populations and found that the populations of 78% of marine mammals and 75% of sea turtles rebounded after receiving protections under the law. The median sea turtle population increased by 980% following the regulations established by the ESA, and the median increase for mammals was 115%. Take Action: Protect our Oceans! Prevent Ocean Plastic Pollution Sign Now The authors of the report think that this promising data could help to protect the ESA at a time when the Trump administration is looking to roll back animal protections. "The Endangered Species Act not only saved whales, sea turtles, sea otters, and manatees from extinction, it dramatically increased their population numbers, putting them solidly on the road to full recovery," Shaye Wolf, a Center for Biological Diversity scientist and coauthor of the study, said in a press release. "We should celebrate the act's track record of reducing harms from water pollution, overfishing, beach habitat destruction, and killing.” The ESA was passed in 1973 and created a mechanism for protecting animals that were in danger of going extinct. When an animal receives protection under this act, its habitat is shielded from most human activities and rehabilitation measures are often taken. For example, if a turtle receives protection, then fishing, tourism, waste disposal, and other activities could be prohibited from a certain area, and conservationists may work to restore the turtles’ sources of food. Read More: 5 Marine Animals Will Go Extinct If We Don't Act Now The report published in PLOS One shows how the act has played a role in saving numerous animals from the brink of extinction. Hawaiian humpback whales, for example, went from a population of 800 in 1979 to 10,000 in 2015. The species recovered so substantially that it was removed from the ESA in 2016.  *This image is copyright of its original author “The humpback whales migrating along the West Coast are a success story everyone can appreciate,” said Abel Valdivia, a coauthor of the study and scientist with the conservation group Rare, in the press release. “We can clearly save endangered species if we make the effort, provide the needed funds and have strong laws like the Endangered Species Act to guide the work.” Reported nests of the North Atlantic green sea turtle along Florida’s coastline had plunged to 464 by 1989. After the animal received protection through the ESA, nests jumped to 39,000 in 2016.  *This image is copyright of its original author Image: Mark Sullivan for NOAA Read More: 5 Coral Reefs That Are Dying Around the World The plight of marine creatures has come into alarming focus in recent years. As climate change intensifies, the world’s oceans are absorbing the bulk of the excess heat produced by greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, causing water temperatures to rise to levels that cook species, including coral, alive. Warming waters are also rearranging the distribution of sea animals in often disastrous ways. For example, a massive blob of warm water traveled to the coast of California, bringing sea urchins that ravaged ancient kelp forests that formed the backbone of local ecosystems. Read More: Every Marine Animal Studied in This Report Contained Microplastics The oceans are also absorbing excess carbon in the atmosphere, which alters the water’s pH level, making it more acidic. As a result, coral reefs are dying en masse around the world and cretaceous creatures are losing their shells. Furthermore, the oceans have become filled with plastic particles that cause immense harm to the marine animals, and industrial waste that creates dead zones. To make matters worse, overfishing threatens to destroy various fish species, and companies are shooting seismic guns that sound like bombs exploding into the oceans to search for oil fields, disrupting the web of sound that many marine animals rely upon to survive. The ESA has been able to reverse the decline of many marine creatures and it could be used to slow down some of the hazards facing the world’s oceans. “Humans often destroy marine ecosystems,” Wolf said, “but our study shows that with strong laws and careful stewardship, we can also restore them, causing wildlife numbers to surge.” https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content...e=facebook 
One of the main, still unknown, benefaction of the sea turtles: to be a natural predator of the jellyfishes like the tunas. If both disapear, we will face to an unsolvable problem.
" Jonathan ? is just a few years away from being the all-time verified record holder of the world's oldest tortoise. Tu'i Malila, the current title holder, died in Tonga in 1965 at 189-years-old.
Only one other tortoise was thought to be older. Adwaita, who died in 2006 in Kolkata, India, was believed to have been 255-years-old at the time of his death, but that has not been confirmed. "  (03-18-2020, 12:10 PM)Spalea Wrote: " Jonathan ? is just a few years away from being the all-time verified record holder of the world's oldest tortoise. Tu'i Malila, the current title holder, died in Tonga in 1965 at 189-years-old. Adwaita was born mostly likely sometime in the 1750s on Aldabra Atoll of Seychelles, exact year not known.  *This image is copyright of its original author But the animal was one of four tortoises that lived at Robert Clive's estate at Barrackpore, in the northern suburbs of Kolkata (then Calcutta). Clive came to Bengal for the 1st time in 1757 & returned to Britain in 1760, most of which was constant military campaigns... Later he came in 1765 as British Governor of the Bengal Presidency & ruled until '67 (dead in 1774). So that narrows down the possible dates of him acquiring & bringing the tortoise to India.  (03-18-2020, 12:10 PM)Spalea Wrote: " Jonathan ? is just a few years away from being the all-time verified record holder of the world's oldest tortoise. Tu'i Malila, the current title holder, died in Tonga in 1965 at 189-years-old.
There was also a giant Galapagos turtle named Harriet that died at the age of 176 years old. She had been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living land tortoise. It quite interesting to learn about the animal life span.
 *This image is copyright of its original author
last month, an Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) was found nesting in the UAE for first time, with a hatchling seen crawling towards the ocean in Sharjah: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-animal-...#pid122148
Covid-19 lull increases the theft of turtle eggs in Oman: https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/cov...-1.1067384
Residents say a pause in rangers' activities during the Covid-19 outbreak has increased the theft of sea turtle eggs in Oman. A lack of surveillance during the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the increased theft of turtle eggs in the eastern coastal areas of Oman. Residents in the Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd areas said patrols by rangers have been suspended since April and poachers were taking advantage of the situation. “Both Omanis and foreign people living in Oman come here and pick up turtle eggs. They come with big bags, pick eggs on the beach and load them in their cars," Rasheed Al-Jaalani, 41, an Omani fisherman in Ras Al Jinz, one of the main turtle nesting areas, said. "There are no rangers now on the beaches, so these poachers take advantage.” The local municipality office in Sur, which governs Ras Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd, declined to say when rangers will resume patrols. The government imposes a penalty of up to two months in prison and/or a fine of $5,000 (Dh18,365) for poachers, but rangers are not always vigilant and culprits are rarely arrested. Conservationists said Ral Al Jinz and Ras Al Hadd beaches are used by turtle species as their nesting grounds. They include olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). All three species are threatened with extinction, while the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) -- which has been spotted but is unknown to nest in Oman -- is one the world’s most endangered sea turtles. Dr Ghulam Al Balushi, a member of the Environmental Society of Oman, said poachers sold eggs to private collectors in a lucrative trade in Omani cities, including Muscat, Sohar and Salalah. “Buyers hatch the babies and sell them to people who use them as pets. Some of them are smuggled out of the country where they are sold at exorbitant prices,” Dr Balushi said. Private collectors typically pay between $30 to $50 for a baby turtle, but the rarest species, such as leatherbacks, can fetch up to $350 each. Turtle watching is a major attraction in Oman, drawing about 400,000 foreign and domestic visitors in 2019, according to statistics from the country's heritage and tourism ministry. Besides Ras Al Hadd and Ras Al Jinz, Masirah Island and the Daymaniyat Island cluster are popular places for visitors eager to see turtles nesting and hatching. “Modern structures and facilities have increased poaching in the eastern region. They made it easier for people travelling into these once almost inaccessible areas, then habited only by fishermen,” Hareb Al-Manwari, 56, a resident of Masirah, said. The government has announced plans to improve access to the area with a 40-kilometre bridge linking Masirah Island to the mainland -- a massive project that is yet to be finalised or building started – and triple carriageway roads towards Ras Al Hadd and Ras Al Jinz. Authorities also opened up the areas to investors who built tourism resorts and hotels. Sleepy villages have since transformed into smart towns, funded by the influx of cash from tourists as retail businesses flourished over the last decade. “Business is good but we are driving our rare turtles to extinction. Is it worth it?” Mr Manwari said. 
Tortoise from Caatinga
credits: Alenilson Rodrigues by Bichos da Caatinga  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
credits: Tuane Almeida/ACS Usipa
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Galápagos Tortoise
credits: Dominika Milek  *This image is copyright of its original author
The Giant Tortoise
credits: Dominika Milek  *This image is copyright of its original author
Cub of Amazonic Turtle
https://www.oeco.org.br/noticias/28027-a...-amazonia/  *This image is copyright of its original author
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