Green sea turtles no longer endangered, IUCN says
By Carson Zorn
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FORT MYERS, Fla. (WBBH) — Following a record-breaking sea turtle nesting season in Florida, green sea turtles are no longer considered endangered.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, green sea turtles had the second-highest nesting season on record for Florida, with 61,708 nests as of the August update.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said that green sea turtles have improved in status from “Endangered” to “Least Concern.”
The IUCN credits decades of sustained conservation action for the rebound in numbers. The green sea turtle population has increased by approximately 28% since the 1970s, the IUCN said.
Conservation efforts have focused on protecting nesting female turtles and their eggs on beaches.
“The ongoing global recovery of the green turtle is a powerful example of what coordinated global conservation over decades can achieve to stabilize and even restore populations of long-lived marine species,” said Roderic Mast, Co-Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Marine Turtle Specialist Group.
“Such approaches must focus not only on the turtles, but on keeping their habitats healthy, and their ecological functions intact. Sea turtles cannot survive without healthy oceans and coasts, and humans can’t either. Sustained conservation efforts are key to assuring that this recovery lasts.”
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