User:Blainethesquirrel/Maine Conservation

Sea turtles[edit]
In 2004, the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ran an assessment which determined that green turtles were globally endangered. Population decline in ocean basins is indicated through data collected by the MTSG that analyzes abundance and historical information on the species. This data examined the global population of green turtles at 32 nesting sites, and determined that over the last 100–150 years there has been a 48–65 percent decrease in the number of mature nesting females. The Kemp's ridley sea turtle population fell in 1947 when 33,000 nests, which accounted for 80 percent of the population, were collected and sold by villagers in Racho Nuevo, Mexico. In the early 1960s only 5,000 individuals were left, and between 1978 and 1991, 200 Kemp's Ridley Turtles nested annually. In 2015, the World Wildlife Fund and National Geographic Magazine named the Kemp's ridley the most endangered sea turtle in the world, with 1000 females nesting annually.

Satellite tracking devices are used to see most frequented areas by sea turtles, in order to determine the areas most critical to protect in conservation efforts An article about sea turtle conservation found that if sea turtles hatch and emerge in large numbers, there are lower instances of predation. In terms of conservation, young loggerhead sea turtles should be released in large numbers at twilight in areas where ghost crab density is low.

Critical loggerhead sea turtle nesting sites include Florida, Sal Cape Verde and Masirah in Oman. In Florida, over the past thirty years there is no evidence of loggerhead sea turtle population recovery, leading experts to advocate for more conservation practices.

Rezoning critical beach habitats for sea turtles, is a part of conservation efforts used (hyper-link). When areas a rezoned, it allows the prohibition of vehicles, beach furniture, prohibits fishing gear on the beach, and limits lights at night (hyper-link).