On nesting beaches, they entangle young ones (Ross, 1987).

Saving Sea Turtles, Making Money

Discarded and abandoned fishing nets are catching and killing marine turtles. In the sea, the nets drown turtles.

By Robert Ovetz, Ph.D., Sea Turtle Restoration Project

In Java, Indonesia, sea turtle eggs were a popular delicacy.

The island is also an important conservation site for sea turtles.

They underlined that it was necessary to consider the specific needs of rare and vulnerable marine ecosystems and habitats, as well as marine species, such as sea turtles, sharks and sea birds.

Green turtles, loggerheads, and hawksbill turtle lay eggs on the beaches in summer.

These are the countries that stand to lose most from continued marine turtle decline.

At the core of these beliefs are traditions that allowed sea turtles to be consumed as food but prevented them from being depleted.

Conversely, developing countries would benefit most increasing sea turtle populations.

For example, revenue from sea turtle tourism at the leatherback nesting beach at Playa Grande, Costa Rica, was 1,121,057 in 2002.

The islands have a huge variety of wildlife, famously including flamingoes and four species of sea turtle.

A recent study documented the replacement cost of raising sea turtles in captivity rather than protecting them in their habitat.

Sea turtles offer an ideal case study of the potential complementary relationship between conservation and sustainable development.

(g) Request States and regional fisheries management organizations and arrangements to urgently implement all measures recommended in the FAO Guidelines to Reduce Sea Turtle Mortality in Fishing Operations to help prevent the decline of all species of sea turtles

Globally, the average gross revenue earned from locations where sea turtles were a major attraction for tourists was 2.9 times higher than areas where they were consumed as food.

These efforts will continue to be undermined as long as the market fails to account for the economic costs to communities and countries from the destruction of sea turtles. Current spending on sea turtle conservation efforts is estimated at U.S. 20 million per year.

Currently, there are 92 sea turtle nesting sites in 43 countries annually toured by 175,000 visitors.

The near total extinction from 1994 to 2002 created a collapse in sea turtle tourism and revenues.

As a consequence of the global distribution of sea turtles, the future of marine turtle populations and their potential to generate benefits to human societies depend mainly on policies implemented in countries with developing economies.

25. Invites States entitled to become parties to the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and Their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South East Asia to consider doing so, and to participate in their work

We view as an important step forward the calls for specific action to prevent the decline of sea turtles and seabird populations by reducing bycatch.

According to the United States Marine Mammal Commission, 136 marine species have been reported in entanglement incidents in the wider United States area, including 6 species of sea turtles, 51 species of seabirds and 32 species of marine mammals (Marine Mammal Commission, 1996).

Noting with satisfaction the recent entry into force of the Inter American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and Their Habitats, which contains provisions to minimize the incidental catch of sea turtles in fishing operations,

Noting with satisfaction also the recent adoption of regional sea turtle conservation instruments in the West African and Indian Ocean South East Asia regions,

Because developing countries are home to the overwhelming majority of sea turtle populations, for example, these countries have the most to gain from protecting the species.

Even the capture of sea turtles as food required that they be shared by the entire community under threat of prohibitions for violating community norms.

Saudi Arabia states that 97,450 birds and 93 marine mammals were killed, and turtle hatch rates suffered a 46 per cent reduction as a result of the oil spills.

Developing countries account for a striking 78 91 percent of the countries where five of the seven species of sea turtles live, and 61 percent of these countries are home to two or more turtle species.

In fact, a number of communities in developing countries home to sea turtle nesting habitats have profited from successful efforts to conserve sea turtle populations through enhanced eco tourism.

Turtles don't have teeth.

Turtles don't have teeth.

Some of the islands harbor the heavily exploited turtle eggs and yet the largest green turtle nesting site in Indonesia.

24. Invites States entitled to become parties to the Inter American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles and their Habitats to consider doing so, and to participate in its work

Most threatened by industrial longline fishing are leatherback sea turtles which migrate thousands of miles across the Pacific to lay their eggs, feed and reproduce.

The cost of rearing turtles in captivity suggests that conservation of marine turtles in the wild is less expensive. In effect, the necessary cost to recover the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle is equal to one half the global annual revenue earned by longline fishing, the largest threat to its survival.

It has been estimated that the cost of raising one leatherback to maturity at the nursery in Rantau Abang, Malaysia over the course of 10 years would be 72,632.

Malaysia, one of the first countries to encourage sea turtle tourism in the 1960s, provides an example of how unrestricted fishing can impact tourism revenues.

The cost of illegal fishing of green sea turtles in Costa Rica in 2000 was estimated to be 1,142 per turtle due to losses in visitors to nesting beaches and habitats when populations decline.

Leatherbacks and tuataras are echoes from that era.

Description The bog turtle is the smallest species of turtle in North America.

The rapid depletion of not only large predatory fish but also associated species, such as sea turtles and cetaceans, by industrial longline fishing threaten the very existence of their ways of life.

In Bali, turtle meat was a prominent feature at ceremonial and religious feasts.

49. Notes the Technical Consultation on Sea Turtles Conservation and Fisheries to be organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations from 29 November to 2 December 2004, and encourages States to participate actively in this work