World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated on June 16, chosen to honor the birthday of Archie Carr, the biologist often called the father of sea turtle conservation. Sea turtles are among the ocean’s oldest travelers, an ancient lineage that has crossed the seas since the age of the dinosaurs, and the day invites us to protect them through the modern hazards they never evolved to face.
Seven ancient mariners
There is no single sea turtle. Seven species roam the world’s oceans, from the small Kemp’s ridley to the enormous leatherback, which can weigh as much as a small car and dives deeper than almost any other reptile. Each has its own diet, range, and nesting habits, and all but a couple are threatened or endangered. Learning the seven turns a generic cartoon turtle into a cast of distinct, remarkable animals worth knowing by name.
An improbable life story
A sea turtle’s life begins with a scramble that borders on the miraculous. Hatchlings dig out of a sandy nest, usually at night, and race to the surf guided by the natural glow of the horizon over the water. The few that survive the gauntlet of predators may travel thousands of miles and, decades later, the females often return to nest on the very beach where they hatched. It is one of nature’s great navigational feats.
A hatchling follows the light of the sky over the ocean. Turn on a beachfront porch light and you can send it the wrong way.
The plastic problem
The most direct threat a land-dweller can act on is plastic. Floating plastic bags look uncannily like jellyfish, a favorite food, and turtles that swallow them can die. Cutting one single-use plastic from your routine for good, whether bags, straws, or bottles, removes real hazard from the water over a year. It is a small change with an unusually clear payoff.
Protect the beach and the sea
If you visit the coast during nesting season, keep lights off near the beach at night so hatchlings are not disoriented, never disturb a nest or a nesting female, and follow posted local guidance exactly. Choose seafood caught with turtle-safe methods to cut down on the bycatch that drowns turtles in fishing gear. And support a rescue center that treats turtles injured by boats, hooks, and plastic, many of which share updates on the animals you help from admission to release. Honor these ancient mariners today, and keep their improbable journey possible.
How to celebrate
- 1Cut single-use plastic
Sea turtles mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them, with deadly results. Drop one single-use plastic from your routine for good, like bags or straws. It is the most direct thing a landlubber can do.
- 2Learn the seven species
There are seven sea turtle species, from the tiny Kemp's ridley to the massive leatherback. Spend a few minutes on how they differ. It turns a generic turtle into a cast of distinct, threatened characters.
- 3Respect nesting beaches
If you visit a coast in nesting season, keep lights off near the beach at night, since artificial light disorients hatchlings. Never disturb a nest or a nesting female. Follow posted local guidance to the letter.
- 4Support a sea turtle rescue
Rescue and rehabilitation centers treat turtles injured by boats, hooks, and plastic. Donations and symbolic adoptions fund their care. Many post updates on the turtles you help, from admission to release.
- 5Choose sustainable seafood
Turtles drown in poorly managed fishing gear as bycatch. Choosing seafood caught with turtle-safe methods reduces that harm. Keep a sustainable-seafood guide on your phone for restaurant orders.