Researchers call this time the “lost years” because for generations, no one knew where the hatchlings went or how they lived. Too small to tag and too far-ranging to track, they simply vanished into the blue. 

Various regions are home to species such as the green, leatherback, and loggerhead turtles. Due to their endangered or threatened statuses, these species are protected by law in most countries, which mandates specific conservation actions and monitoring.

Sea turtles face numerous threats, including habitat loss, human interference, and climate changes, jeopardising their survival and reproductive success.

When sea turtles get trapped in fishing nets and are brought to the surface, they can suffer from gas emboli because their normal diving processes are disrupted. This can cause abnormal gas build-up in their organs. 

To address this, marine veterinarians worldwide are developing methods to understand the possible consequences of this and to determine the most ideal treatment for them. 

A new study offers fresh insights into leatherback sea turtle migration and foraging patterns along the Northwest Atlantic shelf, with implications for conservation strategies.

Published in the Journal Frontiers in Marine Science, the research tracked 52 leatherback sea turtles from 2017 to 2022 during their migration from the South and Mid-Atlantic Bights during the warmer months to the food-rich areas in the north, near New England and Nova Scotia, Canada, and then their journey back during the winter.

Recent studies have employed sophisticated satellite tracking technology to follow hawksbill sea turtles to their most frequented feeding grounds in the Indian Ocean. These advances have allowed researchers to gain unprecedented insights into the turtles' precise movements and behaviours at depths previously unobserved.

In a surprising twist of paleontological detective work, two fossils categorised as ancient plants turned out to be the fossilised remnants of baby turtles. 

This revelation is set to redefine the legacy of specimens collected by Colombian priest Padre Gustavo Huertas.

Mistaken Identity: Plant or Turtle?

Initially classified as a fossil plant called Sphenophyllum colombianum, the two specimens were discovered by Huertas near a town called Villa de Levya, in Colombia, where he collected rocks and fossils in the 1950s to 1970s.

In a recent study, scientists in Brazil are sounding the alarm for the Williams' side-necked turtle (Phrynops williamsi), a rare species found only in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest and neighboring Pampa grasslands. The growing hydroelectric power industry in the country poses a grave threat to these turtles, already classified as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Naturalized dunes line the shoreline, serving as a defense against storm surges and preserving vital wildlife habitats. This beach is a prime nesting spot for sea turtles, being where loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles lay their eggs from mid-May through August.

Executive Officer of NAS Oceana Captain Josh Appezzato and his team of sea turtle patrollers diligently search the beach at sunrise daily.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) is a non-profit education and ocean conservation facility located on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The research team at LMC monitors a 9,5-mile stretch of beach from Juno Beach up to Jupiter Island between March and October. Juno Beach is one of the world's most densely nested sea turtle beaches in the world!

As of the end of July, the research team documented record-breaking nesting numbers, now totalling 22,469 nests to date this season on local beaches.