Is plastic the biggest reason for sea turtle fatalities?

Carter McQuinn

Senior Project Advisor: Lori Fisher

Abstract
Turtles in our modern society have become a very endangered species. Turtles play an important
role in our ecosystem and protection of these ancient animals is necessary. Research around
declining sea turtle species has shown they are in desperate need of protection from many angles.
Many of the main dangers to turtles are covered in this paper, including the results of these
problems and ideas for solutions. Research and writing has lead me to believe that the most
imminent danger to sea turtle species is fishing. This conclusion is fairly broad because of the
lack of information regarding declining turtle species. An issue that may not be important now
but will be in the near future is also covered in the paper.

12th grade Humanities

Animas High School
March 27th 2019
 In the year 1907 humans began producing plastic. Since then, plastic demand has

continued to rise and humans have created over 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic. Humans

recycle only about 30% of this plastic each year and now, over 95% of it, 7.8 billion metric tons

is in our oceans. According to PlasticPollution.org there is enough trash produced per year to

have 5 grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline, in the whole world. These

statistics seem ridiculous however i've experienced views like this on a few occasions. Most

people know that there is too much trash in our oceans because of pictures showing seals with

plastic bags suffocating them or dead birds with stomachs full of microtrash. These images

would make one believe that trash is the #1 problem for our ocean creatures as bird, mammal,

reptile, amphibian and fish numbers are rapidly growing smaller. Today there are many efforts

in many countries to clean up trash in the ocean. However, as many people see trash as the

main concern for what is affecting our ocean life this is a misconception and it should be made

aware that humans have much larger threats to the creatures in the ocean. I have chosen to focus

on threats to sea turtles. Trash makes up a big part of the harm to turtles but is it the main reason

for unnatural deaths of turtles? Old fishing lines, nets and mainly bycatch is causing the greatest

harm to turtle populations. Between 1970 and early 1980’s as the fishing industry grew, over

40,000 turtles died because of accidental entrapment in shrimp trawling nets. ​So, plastic and

trash is not the biggest reason for sea turtle fatalities.

There are seven species of sea turtles currently living in our oceans. The green sea turtle,

loggerhead sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, Olive ridley sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle,
flatback sea turtle, and the Leatherback sea turtle. Most of these seven species are considered

endangered and two are considered approaching endangerment, according to IUCN

(International Union for Conservation of Nature). The population of Hawksbill turtles has

declined 90% in the last 100 years and they are now considered Critically Endangered. The

Hawksbill turtle is internationally protected but they are still commonly eaten worldwide and

known around the world for their stunning shells. National Geographic scientists estimate that

“only a few thousand females capable of laying eggs are still around”(​Allen, 15).

Leatherback turtles as well are on a fast decline for turtle species. As you can see in the graph

above in the late 1980’s there were over 1600 Leatherback turtles in the Eastern Pacific. This

graph ends in 2007 when there were only about 90 turtles in the same area. If this rate continued

until now you would see that the Eastern Pacific is now almost completely uninhabited by

Leatherback Turtles. Extinction of any species has a great effect on ecosystems as well as

people who care about the animals such as myself.

 Flatback turtles are not considered endangered because of insufficient data but

considering there are not enough of them to get data it is easy to assume that they are not in good

condition. Beginning in 1959 groups of people and companies have begun turtle conservation

work. One company has been tracking turtles since the 60’s and has compiled many years of

data regarding the return of turtle species. Because sea turtles generally return to the same

nesting grounds it is easier for scientists to create situations where the male and female turtles

can reproduce. An experiment done in Hawaii showed a great increase in green turtle

populations as the breeding grounds were carefully maintained.

The Green Sea Turtle thrives within the Hawaiian Islands and the nesting grounds now protected

are showing positive results towards the return of this species. This is one species that is not
facing critical danger however as habitats are shrinking the species is not in a place yet where it

no longer needs to be worried about. ​Plastic is not the greatest threat however it remains a threat.

During research I was unable to find exactly what percentage of turtle mortalities are caused by

which threat. My research determined that plastic is not in the top three problems and the top

issues remain much larger than the rest. Throughout my studies I was able to determine that the

fishing industry is enormously responsible for the endangerment of many sea turtle species. The

fishing industry is the easiest to asses the destruction of marine life. It is also the most tangible

evidence that can be put into changing laws for the betterment of the turtles.​ ​Another problem

that the sea turtles are facing is surviving hatching. With rising sea levels, there's less and less

space for the mother sea turtles to lay their eggs. Ocean front property is continuing to be

developed and open beach space it's becoming more and more rare. On top of that sea turtles

need to find just the right type of sand to lay their eggs. The more people there are, the more

traffic there is on beaches which packs down the sand making the turtles unable to dig deep

enough to lay eggs. This leaves turtles with no place to lay eggs so they are laid in an

environment with unfit conditions for the turtles to hatch. Even if the sand is soft enough for the

turtles to lay their eggs it is unknown whether the sand will be soft enough for the hatchlings to

crawl out. In many places, there are people who watch to see where the turtles lay their eggs and

later aid the smaller turtles with digging themselves out. With cities on and near beaches light

pollution also causes a huge problem for hatching turtles. After turtles begin to hatch it takes

them a few days to reach the surface of the sand from the eggs. Most turtles wait until night to

emerge from their nest. In the night when the turtles emerge the ocean reflects moonlight and

the baby turtles instincts tell them to follow the brighter light leading them to the ocean. With
cities, towns and roads built along the coast the brighter light now comes from inland. When the

turtles hatch, they follow the light and end up trapped in gutters, run over by cars, or eaten by

dogs and other animals. As for the turtles who do reach the water, they are still not safe until

they reach virtually empty open ocean. The shallow water near the beaches has the most

predators and with artificial light coming from shore the turtles will linger in shallow areas for

long periods of time. Even with healthy environments for the turtles to hatch, only 1% of

hatchlings reach maturity; with these changing conditions the turtles are beginning to see a

barely .5% survival rate. Even after facing these challenging obstacles, the turtles that do reach

maturity still struggle to survive. The average lifespan of a sea turtle is around 80 years. For

turtles to live this long he / she must survive many life threatening situations many of which is

caused by humans.

As of 1970 when the first species of sea turtle had become endangered, some turtle

species have begun to maintain their populations due to new laws and other work but the general

turtle populations continue to decline. Even if humans can help the turtles recover, there is a

very big problem that most people don’t know about that our earth have yet to see the results of.

For most species of sea turtles the sex of the hatchlings depends on the temperature of the

sand; this is called Temperature Dependant Sex Determination or TSD. This means that the sex

of the hatching eggs depends 100% on the temperature of the sand the eggs have been incubated

in. Since the beginning of turtles, sand temperatures have been normal and there is a solid male

to female ratio. ​“Research shows that if a turtle's eggs incubate below 81.86 Fahrenheit, the

turtle hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 87.8° Fahrenheit, however, the

hatchlings will be female. Temperatures that fluctuate between the two extremes will produce a
mix of male and female baby turtles” s​ ays Mark Sullivan a researcher with the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration. A slight female bias in the species is not a bad thing and

allows the males a higher chance of finding a female and more eggs laid by the females.

However, global warming is increasing our air and sea temperatures and the sand is growing

warmer. In colder places this is not yet an issue, but if global warming is not slowed down this

could lead to a mass extinction of turtles. Research being done with Green Sea Turtles off the

northern coast of Australia shows females now outnumber males 116 to 1. ​"This is

extreme—like capital letters extreme, exclamation point extreme,"​ says turtle scientist Camryn

Allen, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Hawaii. ​"We're talking a

handful of males to hundreds and hundreds of females. We were shocked." ​This means that it is

very unlikely that any female turtles in this area will ever find a mail to fertilize their eggs. Right

now this is not an obvious problem because sea turtles live for almost as long as humans. So, for

this generation there will still be turtles. As the next generations of turtles come it is not unlikely

that the many female turtles will never find a male to fertilize their eggs and the rising

temperatures will cause male turtles to be essentially gone. However, at this time there are much

more immediate problems that the turtles are facing the largest of which is fishing.

Over 1,000 turtles are killed every year by plastic but 40,000 from fishing occured in

under 10 years. Judging by this statistic you can see that there are larger problems in the ocean

for the turtles than trash. ​“As it stands, the global fishing fleet is currently 2.5 times larger than

what oceans can sustainably support, which shows how big a threat commercial fishing

practices pose to turtles” ​(National Marine Fisheries Service)​. F

​ ishing has become the number

one problem facing declining turtle species. Trawl nets are huge cone shaped nets and the mouth
of the net can measure up to 13,000 square feet or as big as a professional soccer field. These

enormous nets are dragged behind boats scooping up everything in its path creating baren sea

floors. A longline, another common method, is a strong fishing line with a weight on one end

and a buoy on the other with up to 12,000 hooks that can stretch for more than 30 miles. Bycatch

is when marine life is caught in these nets unintentionally. Because turtles breathe air, they do

not survive being trapped underwater for long periods of time. When caught in abandoned nets

or on long lines, sea turtles almost always drown. Turtles dragged onto boats by trawl nets are

either tossed back injured and unable to survive or killed and sold on the black market for their

meat and shells. The sea turtle conservancy estimates that ​“Each year, more than 250,000 sea

​ his is a huge amount of

turtles are accidentally captured, injured or killed by U.S. fishermen.“ T

turtles and it is apparent something must be done to help

There have been relatively few efforts to prevent bycatch. The Turtle Excluder Device or TED

invented by Sinkey Boone in the late 60s worked well but was used by very few commercial

fishing boats until 1987 when the US made it a requirement. The state of Louisiana however

prohibits marine enforcement officers from enforcing it. In addition, most of the world does not

have much legislation regarding sea turtle conservation. Sea turtles are protected by the

“Convention on International Trade in endangered species” meaning all Countries who signed

the treaty contribute to protection of these animals. The international trade of these species is

also a contributing factor to their declining numbers. In many countries the meat of the turtles is

a common or exquisite food and thousands are killed every year to be eaten. The shells of these

animals are worth a lot on the black market and at times can be sold for over $4,000. In China,

the market for sea turtles is larger than in most countries because of both the consumption and
sale of the meat and shells.

As part of my studies I learned there are actions people can take to help turtles, and they

need our help! The question is, will people help? The problems seem huge and endless but the

key is to start with little tasks. For example, eating fish fuels the fishing economy and increases

the amount of fish the industry will produce. By eating fish that is farmed as opposed to wild

caught you are guaranteeing that there was no turtle bycatch in the process of attaining this fish.

Look for logos like these when you buy fish products to know that you are not harming any

animals other than the one you are buying. Check and buy plastic that is recyclable and, more

importantly, actually recycle. It is easy to use products that do not have plastic if you just put the

time into looking for them. Be inventive like the Dutch inventor who designed a huge floating U

shaped device that is in testing stages but said to help an immense amount with removing trash

from the ocean. Ride your bike, carpool, and use public transportation to play your part in

preventing global warming. Turning your lights off, making areas light free after certain hours

and increasing protected areas is another way humans can begin to help these animals.

Protection of beaches and preventing motorized vehicles will greatly reduce the packed sand to a
point where turtles can use any part of the beach as their nest.

Turtles as a species are one of the oldest on the planet, the first types of species lived over

220 million years ago. They are now endangered and it is important we help them. Sea turtles

are ancient beautiful creatures that for many years have not been respected as they should be. A

turtle plays such an important part in our oceans ecosystems that without them many species

would die. Coral reefs would be overtaken by algae and sponges killing other plant life leaving

no food for many animals with specific diets. Seagrass beds not maintained by the turtles would

die leaving desolate, lifeless, sandy seafloors. For example, hawksbill turtles eat a variety of

sponges allowing a more diverse life in reefs providing more food for different species as well as

keeping particular species from overtaking the reef. Sea turtles are also the reason for healthy

vegetation on our beaches as the plants benefit from the nutrients left behind by turtles when they

come on shore such as egg shells and nutrients in water. Vegetation on beaches is very

important because it keeps the ocean waves from eroding the land. Sea turtles as prey are an

important part of the food chain in all stages of their lives. As baby turtles they are food for

birds, dogs, and fish. As they grow they become prey for big sharks or orcas. With diminishing

turtle populations many animals who rely on the turtles will also be affected. Without sea turtles

our oceans would be over vegetated and species who rely on the turtles in various ways will also

be in danger. The decline and eventual extinction of sea turtles would cause a much larger

problem for humans than we would expect.

I have concluded from my research that our society assumes trash is the biggest problem

affecting turtles today. Because of this misinterpretation the primary hazards to turtles are not

fully being dealt with. There are simpler solutions to bigger problems but with much of the
population unaware of these impacts they are significantly harder to deal with. Research has

showed me many factors proving that fishing is the most significant danger for turtles. Trash left

behind from fishing is nearly as dangerous as the rest of the trash. This, added to the turtles

caught in nets or on lines makes is significantly the largest problem facing turtle species today. I

was in Mexico and I came across a sea turtle hatching site. I was able to help marine biologists

in assisting the baby turtles with reaching the ocean unharmed. This experience is one of the

many reasons I decided to choose this subject. Being able to help sea turtles first hand was an

experience I’ll never forget and I hope to do similar things in the future. Everything that is done

with turtle conservation makes a difference, whether it is habitat protection, recycling,

restrictions on fishing, or even helping one little turtle make it from it’s nest to the ocean. With

the survival rates of turtles so low, every turtle that is helped raises the likelihood that sea turtle

species will thrive in the future.

 Works Cited

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Turtles of Florida and Mexico No Longer Endangered,​ 2016,

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Chilton, Gemma. “Light Pollution Is Confusing Baby Sea Turtles.” ​Australian Geographic,​ 17

Aug. 2018,

www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2016/05/light-pollution-is-confusing-baby-sea-t

urtles/.

Howell, Elizabeth. “Light Pollution Deters Nesting Sea Turtles.” ​LiveScience,​ Purch, 7 June

2013, www.livescience.com/37278-light-pollution-sea-turtle-nesting.html.

“Information About Sea Turtles: Threats from Commercial Trawl Fishing – Sea Turtle

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conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-commercial-trawl-fishing/.

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advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/9/e1600730.full.

“Temperature Effects on Sea Turtle Sex Ratios and the Potential Impact of Climate Change.”

National Marine Life Center,​

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US Department of Commerce, Mark Sullivan, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration. “What Causes a Sea Turtle to Be Born Male or Female?” ​NOAA's

National Ocean Service,​ 21 Apr. 2017,

oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/temperature-dependent.html.

Welch, Craig. “99% Of These Sea Turtles Are Turning Female-Here's Why.” ​National

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