Saving Endangered Turtles

Sea turtles around the world continue to face serious threats from human activity to the extent that today, all species of sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered. IFAW works with several partner organizations around the world to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles that get stranded in beaches, suffer from entanglements in fishing nets and are threatened by poaching and nest site degradation.

Eroding beaches around the world pose serious threats to sea turtles that return to breed in their sands. Both adults and hatchlings suffer from loss of habitat, poaching, nest predation and disorientation by artificial light. The turtles that are able to return to sea are not yet free of danger as fishing practices still causes deaths from entanglement in fishing gear.

IFAW’s work to save sea turtles around the globe includes:

Sea turtle rescue and release operations, nest site protection from human poachers, and wildlife and coastal community education in Sri Lanka.

Field education programs for local fishermen at fish landing sites to encourage sea turtle disentanglement from fishing nets in Kenya.

Sea turtle standing response and rehabilitation program in Uruguay.

Sea turtle rescue and disentanglement program in Peru.

Sea Turtle Population Assessment, Data Management & Awareness in the Caribbean.

Photo © IFAW