Understanding the impact of chemical contaminants on turtles can inform turtle conservation and also can guide efforts to protect and conserve larger ecosystems. Partners in WWF-Australia’s Rivers to Reef to Turtles project have spent the past four years studying the chemical profile and health impacts of pollutants found in green turtles in the hope of improving the way turtles and their habitats are monitored and conserved.
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Ghost gear—intentionally or unintentionally abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear—is a global conservation problem that affects dozens of marine species, including sea turtles. Ghost gear continues to catch target and non-target species long after being lost, abandoned, or discarded, a process called ghost fishing.
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In the Pacific Ocean, leatherback turtles routinely make epic journeys of tens of thousands of miles between tropical breeding areas and frigid-water feeding areas. A newly completed, multiyear satellite tracking study provides the best picture yet of the jaw-dropping migratory abilities of these animals.
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Turtle excluder devices (TEDs) have been shown to reduce sea turtle bycatch. Yet fishers often see things differently, and as with the use of any tool, the use of TEDs must be mastered through experience. Today, TEDs are widely accepted as part of the bycatch solution and are mainstreamed into daily fishing activities throughout the United States.
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According to that lovable loggerhead Crush—the surfer-dude sea turtle from the movie Finding Nemo—the East Australia Current (EAC) is a sea turtle highway, where turtles hitch a free ride from one place to another, and this observation isn’t too far from the truth.
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Until 1988, the Australian flatback was still so poorly understood that it was considered to be in the same genus as the green turtle. In the short time since then, science not only has renamed the flatback, but also has seemingly rediscovered Australia’s own sea turtle. This SWOT Feature Article presents a regional scale map of flatback nesting throughout its range.
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Wan Smolbag, a community theater group, has been bringing topical issues to the people of Vanuatu since 1989 in a medium that is accessible to everyone regardless of their age, language, or education. All the tools the group needs for its work are kept in “one small bag”— hence its name in the local dialect.
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