Thousands of sea turtles emerge from their nests every year but only 1,000 to 10,000 will survive to adulthood. Being a turtle lover myself, this concerns me because we are causing harm to sea turtles across the ocean due to our negative choices against the environment. Even though natural causes play a part, us humans are the reason why many animals are on their way to extinction, including our sacred sea turtles.
Start Saving Sea Turtles.
Sea turtles have existed for over a 100 million years yet they are struggling to survive due to the things people are doing to the Earth's oceans and beaches. If we learn from our mistakes and stop harming the environment, we will be saving one of the earth's most time-honored creatures and we might just be saving ourselves too.
1. Reduce The Amount of Garbage You Produce.
2. Stop Littering.
Is it really that hard to find a garbage can? No. Throwing your trash on the side of the road or leaving it on the beach gives the opportunity for the ocean to pull it in the water. By picking up your trash, you are saving sea turtles from choking on that piece of plastic and simply just improving the water you swim in.
3. Be Aware Of Sea Turtle Nesting Areas And Avoid Nesting.
Sea turtles are cute, which makes it hard to not pick one up or observe if you see it on the beach, but disturbing nesting areas may cause baby turtles to not make it to the water in a proper manner.
4. Turn Out Lights Visible From The Beach.
Shouldn't you be turning off your lights anyway? This not only saves your electric bill but thousands of turtles too. Sea Turtles use moonlight and reflections to find their way to the water at night. Artificial lighting causes confusion and may cause the turtles to head inland, putting them in dangerous situations.
5. Reduce the Amount Of Chemicals You Use.
The chemicals you use on your lawn and in your home can wash into the coastal waters, killing more than just Sea Turtles. Finding biodegradable solutions and disposing of toxic chemicals will allow turtles to live a prosperous life and keep our oceans healthy.
6. Volunteer!
Simply organizing a clean-up day for your local beach can be one of the easiest ways to help save the turtles. There are many organizations you can join in order to make a positive difference in the lives of sea turtles, but even doing something like following some of these simple solutions can be a way you can volunteer.
7. Stay Alert When Boating.
Boat and propeller strikes can seriously injure or kill sea turtles. Simply slow down when you spot a turtle, stay in channels, and avoid boating over their habitat like seagrass beds. This can help a turtle from getting hurt and overall improve the lives of many different oceanic species.
8. Be Careful With The Daily Products You Use.
Those balloons at your birthday party may be a nice touch but can severely harm sea turtles. Celebrating events without the use of helium balloon releases can prevent turtles mistakenly eating the balloons and dying.
9. Stop Having Fires On The Beach.
A campfire on the beach may sound nice, but the negative impact will make you want to move the fire more inland. Sea turtle hatchlings are known to be attracted to campfire light which causes them to crawl toward the fires and die.
10. Remove Recreational Equipment From The Beach At Night.
Removing lounge chairs, umbrellas, and boats from the beach at night can allow turtles to nest without certain barriers. Yard decorations are items that everyone uses yet not a lot of people know how it can negatively affect sea turtles.
There are many ways to help protect sea turtles but the ones listed above are simple tasks that anyone can do if they want to see more of these animals on Earth. The increasing chance of extinction for these beautiful animals is something that isn't brought to awareness as much as it should be. Simply getting rid of your trash in a proper manner is something we should all be doing to help our environment and will leave more of a positive impact than you think.
Humans: even though shutting off that light or separating your trash may be a hassle, don't be lazy because you'll help save our turtles!
