The State of the World's Sea Turtles | SWOT

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Threats to Sea Turtles: Direct Take

Ashleigh Bandimere

By BRAD NAHILL

In November 2007 Didiher Chacón of WIDECAST led an investigation and confiscation of illegal tortoiseshell items sold by vendors in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Among the items confiscated were these pieces of jewelry. © WIDECAST

Direct take of sea turtles is nothing new. Sea turtles have been consumed for their eggs, meat, and shells for thousands of years, by indigenous peoples, political elites, and everyone in between. It wasn’t until the 1800s, though, that the global scale of the sea turtle trade became large enough to threaten some sea turtle populations with extinction.  

In the mid-1900s, conservation efforts started sporadically around the world, and those efforts are now bearing fruit as some sea turtle populations increase. The past 15 years of SWOT Reports have contained many stories of communities coming together to figure out creative ways to protect turtles from non-sustainable or commercial take, while allowing traditional use where possible. Among these are hopeful stories of the recovery of sea turtles in places like Ascension Island, Colola Beach (Mexico), and Hawaii; new community-based conservation programs and MPAs in Indonesia, Nicaragua, Mozambique, the Andamans, and Micronesia; innovative outreach campaigns in Mexico, El Salvador, and São Tomé; and policy changes in Indonesia, the Bahamas, and elsewhere.

It’s not all good news, however. The persistent hawksbill tortoiseshell trade still happens in many places around the world and large seizures of carapaces continue in Southeast Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a mixed bag for sea turtles around the world despite some flashy headlines. In many places, the combination of locals desperate for food and income and no international volunteers to help fund the work and patrol sea turtle nesting beaches has resulted in some reports of increased egg collection and turtle hunting.

The issue of sea turtle harvest and the protection against it is a complex one that’s steeped in Western ideals and colonial science. Throughout the history of sea turtle conservation, the process has often included Western scientists establishing a project in a remote area and demanding that the local community halt the consumption of sea turtles. The question is now arising about the ethics of removing a source of food and income from local people.

By: Brad Nahill

SWOT Report Articles Related to Direct Take of Sea Turtles

  1. Mortimer, J. A. 2006. Simple, Yet Effective: Protection at the Nesting Beach. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 1: 8.

  2. Rice, R. 2006. Understanding the Incentive - How one Community Conserves Turtle, Reef and Forest. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 1: 23.

  3. Putra, K., & Bailey, L. M. 2007. Curbing the Balinese Sea Turtle Trade. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 2: 30-31.

  4. Broderick, A. 2007. Recovery at Ascension. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 2: 14.

  5. Matsuzawa, Y. 2007. Japan: Looking Beyond the Nesting Beach. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 2: 16.

  6. Marsh, J., & Nichols, W. J. 2007. Making the Connection: Human Health and Sea Turtle Consumption. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 2: 39.

  7. Chandi, M. 2008. Traditional Sensibility in the Andamans. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 3: 21.

  8. SWOT Editors. 2008. Big Conservation Impact from a Small Island. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 3: 27.

  9. Pilcher, N. J., Chan E. H., & Trono, R. 2008. Mass Turtle Poaching: A case Study from Southeast Asia. 2008. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 3: 26.

  10. Donnelly, M. 2008. Trade Routes for Tortoiseshell. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 3: 24-25.

  11. Gaos, A., Yañez, I., & Nichols, W. J. 2008. ¡CAREY! Where Have the Eastern Pacific Hawksbills Gone? In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 3: 18-19.

  12. Ciccione, S. 2009. From Corail to Kélonia: A New Chapter in Indian Ocean Sea Turtles. 2009. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 4: 27.

  13. Bjorndal, K. A., & Bolten., A. B. 2010. Policy Changes Protect Sea Turtles in The Bahamas: Long-term Efforts Rewarded. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 5: 17.

  14. Shanker, K. 2010. Gahirmatha - The Beach Beyond the Forest. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 5: 31.

  15. Matarasso, M., & Yarnell, L. 2010. Changing Our Behavior, Changing Our World. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 5: 38-39.

  16. Donnelly, M. 2011. Sea Turtles and CITES. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 6: 42-43.

  17. Pilcher, N. J. 2011. Haiwaii's Unique Turtles. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 6: 10-11.

  18. Muurmans, M. 2011. Community Conservation Programs Built to Last. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 6: 22-23.

  19. Urteaga, J., Torres, P., & Gaos, A. 2011. Egg Collection for Conservation. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 6: 37-39.

  20. Gjertsen, H. 2011. What's A Turtle Worth? In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 6: 40-41.

  21. Liles, M., Gadea, V., Henriquez, A., Altamirano, E., Melero, D., Urteaga, J., Torres, P., Yañez, I., & Gaos, A. 2014. The Hawksbill Cup - A Social Innovation Helps Save Turtles Through Sport. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 9: 30-31.

  22. Humber, F. 2014. The Importance of Setting Baseline for Assessing the Direct Take of Turtles. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 9: 10-11.

  23. Cruce, J., & Rulmal, J. 2014. Continuity in a Community Setting - The Ulithi Marine Turtle Program. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 9: 14-15.

  24. D'Cruze, N., Balaskas, M., Morrison, T., & Alcock, R. 2015. Sea Turtle Farming - Past, Present, and Future? In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 10: 26-27.

  25. Lagueux, C. J., & Campbell, C. L. 2016. Caught in a Net - Green Turtles and The Turtle People of Nicaragua. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 11: 34-35.

  26. Vieira, S., Jimenez, V., & Hancock, J. 2016. Viva Tartaruga - Getting the Word Out in Creative Ways. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 11: 32-33.

  27. Ferreira Airaud, B., Regalla, A., Barbosa, C., & Betunde, D. 2016. Conservation Progress in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 11: 40-41.

  28. Silva, I. 2017. Magic & Mixed feelings in Turtle Paradise. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 12: 44-45.

  29. Nahill, B., & Nichols, W. J. 2017. Tortoiseshell Too Rare to Wear. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 12: 35.

  30. Delgado Trejo, C. 2018. Michoacán's Black Turtle: Back from the Brink. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 13: 44-45.

Stay tuned for more in this series based on “The 5 Biggest Threats to Sea Turtles” 2006. Their Greatest Challenge in 100 Million Years: Facing the Hazards of Humankind. In SWOT Report— The State of the World’s Sea Turtles, vol. 1: 5.