Sea Turtle Conservation

Sea turtles are believed to have come from ancestors over 200 million years ago and are the oldest known species alive today. There are 8 sea turtle species and all 8 are on the endangered species list with the Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle being the most endangered in the world. The Kemp Ridley is known to nest along the southern states Gulf Coast (Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Mississippi). In the Florida panhandle (the 30a corridor and Destin, Florida) the Loggerhead and the Yellow Belly sea turtles are most prominent.

These turtles are known to swim as far as 1500 miles to nest and lay their spherical soft white eggs in the sand. Volunteers walk the beaches as early as 5 a.m. looking for drag marks left in the sand by the female turtles as they struggle onto land looking for the perfect nesting spot to create with their powerful flippers. Once the nesting spots are identified by the volunteers the nest are marked and protected. It has been illegal since 1973 to harm a sea turtle or disturb its nest. This law was passed in an attempt to save the endangered turtles and increase the population. CITES is the name of the treaty set forth by the "Convention of International Trade for Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Wild Flora". This treaty was created to protect endangered species world wide.

Locals volunteer to help identify nest and sea turtles that may be distressed so that conservation groups can step in to save the turtles of all ages. This includes collecting them from the cold waters as they float in a hypothermic coma and keeping them alive until warmers waters develop. Once the waters warm the turtles are released back into the Gulf.

Sea Turtles can reach a weight of six hundred pounds and measure up to 5 feet. They can live to be 50 years old. Some can dive as deep as 3300 feet to find food. They love to eat the very jellyfish humans avoid while swimming in the same waters.

I really did not know much about marine life and Sea Turtle Conservation of the 30a corridor and Destin, Florida area (known as The World's Luckiest Fishing Village) until I went to spend a few weeks in Santa Rosa, Florida. My cousin Lana lives there and has been selling real estate in the Florida Panhandle for over 18 years. I felt it was time to pay a visit and see for myself why the 30a corridor has been voted the most beautiful beaches in the world. I must say that if I were a sea turtle I would pick the most beautiful beaches in the world and the " Worlds Luckiest Fishing Village" to hang out in and nest.

Anthony and Sherry Head of the South Walton Turtle Watch Group patiently filmed the nesting activity of the loggerhead turtle you see here. This video resides on Walton Outdoors.

The sea turtle rescue was filmed by www.newsherald.com as the biologist of Panama City Beach released the 345 endangered sea turtles back to the wild. Panama City Beach is about a 40 minute drive east of the Destin, Florida and Santa Rosa, Florida area.

Sea Turtle Conservation all over the world is a great thing. I hope you have enjoyed this hub and the video's of the conservation efforts of marine biologists and the 30a corridor, Destin, Florida, and Panama City Beach, Florida volunteers as they work hard committing themselves to the survival of the endangered Sea Turtles known to have come from a 200 million year old species.

Florida Panhandle Sea Turtle Conservation season has once again begun.