Recently, an article was published by the Good News Network claiming a 500% increase in eggs laid by breeding Green sea turtles. The article discusses how historically, Green sea turtle populations on the Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles were decimated by poachers. Protections were introduced as a ban on killing Green turtles completely, and their population numbers have been steadily growing ever since. According to Adam Pritchard, "Aldabra Atoll was the first green turtle nesting site to be protected in the Western Indian Ocean, with a ban on turtle capture in 1968, followed by continued long-term monitoring by Seychelles Islands Foundation researchers." With this, Cheryl Sanchez, who is currently working towards a Ph.D. while researching Aldabra’s turtles, states that “this study demonstrates the importance of long-term monitoring, which is often seen as less glamorous and valuable than targeted research." The success of these protections provides a good frame of reference for implementing no-kill protections in other areas of the world in order to promote the sustainability of Sea turtle populations worldwide.
While this news article is inspiring and uplifting, there are no links to primary articles confirming this data, only quotes from scientists currently working on monitoring the nesting populations. There may not be any links because these articles haven't been published yet. The claims of a 500% increase are likely just to catch the eye of readers, while there has likely been a solid and substantial nesting increase since protections have been implemented. Articles like this one are great for boosting morale in environmental and sustainability-related news, however, can be slightly misleading, even with good intent.
Here is a link to the article for viewing:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/breeding-ground-for-green-sea-turtles-reports-500-boom-in-numbers/
1 comment:
Link to the primary research: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v47/p205-215/
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