A Brief Introduction to Sea Turtles



Before humans, before primates of any kind and before even dinosaurs, the oceans of the world have been inhabited by a set of species of reptiles called Sea Turtles. Direct descendants of some of the earliest members of the evolutionary chain, members of this 150 million year old family are found all over the world, in every ocean except the Arctic. There are currently seven living species of Sea turtles: the Green Sea turtle, the Australian Flatback, Kemp’s Ridley, the Olive Ridley, Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Leatherback. All seven are currently either threatened or endangered and are protected under various national and international laws all over the world.


These magnificent creatures are capable of living both on and off land, but spend most of their lifetimes underwater. Once or twice every few years (depending on the species) however, the females crawl on shore to nest. A process by which they locate a suitable spot above the high tide point, clear away the topsoil and dig a nest using their hind flippers. Each turtle lays a large number of eggs, anywhere between 100 to 200 every batch. The hatchlings develop in the small (3 to 4 cm diameter) sized eggs for a period of 7 to 10 weeks. The temperature of the sand they are buried in determines the sex of the hatchling. Generally, lower temperatures produce males and higher temperatures produce females. The eggs hatch over the period of a few days and the hatchlings instinctively head towards the water.


This unfortunately, is the most hazardous period in any sea turtle's life. Dangers on the beach include poachers waiting to capture the turtles and predators such as crabs, dogs or birds of prey. Many of the eggs don't even have the chance to hatch as humans may steal them for food or for sale. It is said that out of the small percentage of eggs that hatch, less than one in a thousand hatchlings is believed to survive to adulthood.


These days however, a large number of factors are contributing to the mortality rates of adult turtles; one of the most significant being commercial and large-scale fishing. Methods such as long line fishing and shrimp trawling cause the death of thousands of turtles each year by drowning. Sadder still is the fact that a large percentage of these turtles can be saved by some minor modifications made to fishing equipment and nets, such as the incorporation of TED's (Turtle Excluder Devices). Besides by catch, another contributor to the decline in turtle populations is the illegal trading of turtle meat and eggs as well as the poaching of turtles for their shells and leather.


The imminent extinction of the sea turtles is a serious issue and would have severely adverse effects on the ecosystem. The Leatherback, Kemp's Ridley and Hawksbill are all very critically endangered and the others may join them soon. A lot of effort is being put in by various governments and organizations to help protect the Sea Turtles, but unless awareness is raised and strict measures are taken to curb illegal trading, poaching and accidental death due to fisheries, creatures that have survived for millions of years may not make it into the next century.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Introduction

Hi.
My name is Rasik.

A few months ago, i picked up an old, 1994 issue of National Geographic and saw the cover page article on Sea Turtles. I read it twice. At that point, all seven species were endangered with the Kemp's ridley and the Leatherback being the worst cases.

Today, the situation is no better. In fact, world sea turtle populations have plummeted and a large part of that is because of us humans. We destroy beaches to develop ports and harbours, collect unhatched eggs to sell as delicacies, hunt the creatures for their skins so we can have leather bags, shoes, straps and whatever else. Some of us even seperate the turtles from their shells; their homes, their skeletons, so that we may brew "medicines" from them.

With the introduction of commercial fishing using trawl nets and longlines, the sheer number of sea turtles dying every year because of human causes is truly horrifiying. Surprsing as it may seem, a large number of people world over don't even know of the existence of these magnificent creatures and the tortuous life they lead because of us.

The purpose of this blog is to try and spread awareness of the plight of Sea turtles worldwide and to see if by taking some action, however small, we can make a difference.
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