Many who have their first sight of a sea turtle in the ocean, fall in love instantly. Who couldn’t with these adorable creatures? Sea turtles are prevalent in every ocean of the world, other than the Arctic. A land turtle is cute enough, but a turtle that swims? That is a sight to behold! Sea turtles have many benefits to their underwater ecosystems. One of these many benefits is eating the sea grass that grows on the ocean’s floor. It is one of the very few marine species which do this. This sea grass must be kept short to allow it to be used as a breeding area for many species of fish and other marine life. The many eggs that sea turtles lay also a rich nutrient source for dune vegetation.
Every single one of the seven species of sea turtles is now on the endangered species list. What a shame. Even through the females lay 100 eggs at a time, usually only one out of the entire 100 hatchlings make it to adulthood. While always having natural predators, such as seagulls, sharks, foxes and raccoons, which affect the number of hatchlings which survive, the sea turtle population is now being greatly affected by humans.
Over-fishing is one of the main causes of the sea turtles demise. Specifically, the use of gill-nets in fishing. Sea turtles get caught in the nets and get trapped underwater. While spending most of their lives submerged underwater, sea turtles do need to surface periodically to breathe in air. While caught in the fisherman’s nets, these sea creatures usually drown or suffer severe injuries while struggling to set themselves free.
Many states are now putting in effects to protect this precious species, including laws governing the uses of gill-nets. Hopefully it is not too late.