The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...
captivating humanity with their mysterious, long-distance marine voyages.
Marine turtles play a vital and integral role in our planet's marine and coastal ecosystems. Yet, six out of seven marine turtle species are threatened with extinction today. Over the last centuries human activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Urgent global action is now needed to ensure their future.
Climate change is already affecting marine turtles in various ways. Sand temperature affects the ratio between female and male turtles born, with higher sand temperatures on nesting beaches producing more females. Some populations of green turtles have produced hatchlings that are 99% female due to warmer nesting beaches. In addition, sea level rise and more intense storm events will affect turtle nests and hatchling survival. Climate change also damages coral reefs, on which some turtles rely for food and habitat.
WWF advocates for stronger climate action and supports research to understand and mitigate the specific challenges posed by climate change.
The single greatest threat to most marine turtles is targeted and incidental capture of turtles in fisheries. Hundreds of thousands of turtles are accidentally caught by gillnets, shrimp trawl nets and on longline hooks each year.
WWF collaborates with coastal communities to support sustainable management of turtle populations and with the fishing industry to develop and implement innovative bycatch mitigation technologies, such as turtle excluder devices (TEDs), that allow turtles to escape fishing gear unharmed. Support our latest campaign here.
Marine turtles are poached for their meat and eggs, which are used for food and medicine, as well as for their shells in trade.
WWF actively works to disrupt illegal poaching and trafficking networks that endanger marine turtle populations. Collaboration with governments and local communities is crucial in dismantling these criminal operations and promoting sustainable practices.
Marine turtles rely on specific beaches for nesting. The habitats of marine turtles are being degraded or destroyed by certain types of coastal development, which means there are fewer places for them to live, eat and have young. This degradation or loss of habitat is the result of unsustainable tourism or other industrial development, as well as sea level rise.
WWF works with communities and governments to protect these critical areas through expanding and improving the management of Important Marine Turtle Areas (IMTAs) and by promoting responsible coastal development practices.
Community-centred
knowledge & practice
WWF is working closely with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, recognizing their role as vital stewards of ocean health and thriving turtle populations. WWF partners and supports local communities and their efforts to lead and deliver conservation action for marine turtles, and the solutions needed to safeguard their long term survivability - as turtles have tremendous value for nature and people.
Science & technology
WWF leverages science and technology to help build evidence and drive impactful conservation and action. It applies innovative tools and research, includes delivering and upscaling ShellBank, Blue Corridors for Turtles and the Turtle Use Project to uncover and address unsustainable use, trade, by-catch and climate change impacts to marine turtles, pinpointing populations targeted, those most at-risk, and requiring greatest protection. Working at national, regional and global levels, it’s programs aim to drive marine turtle recovery worldwide.
Policy & Advocacy
WWF aims to bridge the gap between science and policy, supporting national and regional conservation efforts and innovation to drive effective transboundary policy reform for marine turtle conservation. WWF invests in strengthening government and community-led decision making, law, enforcement, and advocacy to reduce fisheries by-catch, overexploitation and climate driven impacts.
Conserving Blue Corridors to Protect Turtles
Built on Collaborative Action
Closing Critical Data Gaps
Blue Corridors for Turtles leverages traceability technologies, including ShellBank and satellite tracking, to map turtle migration and transboundary movements. It will bridge significant knowledge gaps about marine turtle connectivity in every ocean basin, across more than 140 countries worldwide. Collaborators have already begun compiling the world’s largest dataset covering all seven species of marine turtles, including nesting sites, satellite tracking data, and genetic information.
Contributing to the mission of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group, Blue Corridors for Turtles is coordinated by WWF in partnership with Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the University of Queensland, ShellBank, State of the World’s Turtles (SWOT) and the CLS group.
World’s first traceability toolkit & global database of marine turtle DNA
Introducing ShellBank
ShellBank works by detecting a turtles’ population origin to understand what genetically distinct turtle populations exist, and how they are connected. Using ShellBank, we can then identify which populations are most at-risk, such as those being unsustainably harvested, traded or caught in fisheries bycatch, and better protect those most in need.
Launched in 2022, this game-changing platform is pioneering marine turtle DNA-traceability and connectivity on a global scale.
