Sea turtles bring joy to everyone who is lucky enough to see one in the wild. Unfortunately, their history is rife with overexploitation. Despite it being illegal to harvest sea turtles, the demand for their meat, eggs, and shells has resulted in all seven species of sea turtles being listed as endangered. To help protect sea turtles in the U.S. Virgin Islands, researchers at the University of the Virgin Islands are tagging and releasing green and hawksbill sea turtles off St. Thomas to better understand where they live, how many there are, and how healthy the turtles are.
The data gathered by UVI researchers is vital for building plans to better manage and protect sea turtles in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Due to these intensive conservation efforts, many sea turtle populations have now begun to rise. However, despite sea turtle populations increasing in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the neighboring British Virgin Islands continue to perpetuate a hunting season for sea turtles in their waters.
“not only are they important to the environment, but they need our help to recover from overexploitation”