"Scientists caution fisheries and climate change still threaten the animals. Sustained conservation efforts must continue so the turtles can continue to recover, they say."

"In the shallow turquoise waters off the island of Providenciales in Turks and Caicos—a British overseas territory south of the Bahamas—large adult green sea turtles rest on the sandy seafloor, grazing on seagrass. Juveniles surface for air as they swim through mangrove forests, while others tuck themselves into the shadows of coral reef crevices. It’s a scene of quiet abundance that can’t be taken for granted. 

For more than 40 years, green sea turtles teetered on the brink of extinction around the world, their numbers decimated by commercial hunting of the animals for their meat, harvesting of their eggs and destruction of their nesting beaches as seaside developments took over coastlines. Many have been fatally ensnared in fishing gear or choked by drifting plastic debris.

Yet, despite these threats, decades of persistent conservation efforts have slowly helped reverse the species’ decline. 

Earlier this month, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that the global population of green turtles has increased nearly 30 percent since the 1970s, thanks to a suite of international actions aimed at saving the animals."

Teresa Tomassoni reports for Inside Climate News October 31, 2025. [2]