Reason for Ocean Optimism

Marine mammals, sea turtles listed under Endangered Species Act are recovering, study finds

Twenty years ago I started my scientific career as a college freshman in Cuba, collecting data to support sea turtle conservation. I was full of optimism. I was just learning about the threats that thousands of marine species and their habitat were facing due to human actions, and I still had hope that conservation measures laid out in my textbooks would help them.

On remote, protected beaches on the southeast coast of this Caribbean island, we camped for weeks during the summers, fighting voracious mosquitos and waiting for the arrival of nesting sea turtles. In just one nesting season we counted and measured hundreds of green and loggerhead sea turtles and recorded thousands of eggs and hatchlings. These sea turtle populations were nesting in one of the most pristine coastal ecosystems of the island, and they were thriving.

Reef fish, sharks and corals of the adjacent fringing coral reefs were also doing spectacularly — a dreamy seascape free from human impacts, further protected by national park status. Conservation was working. Nowadays good news in marine conservation is rare or underreported.

That’s why […]

Full article: Reason for Ocean Optimism

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