Green sea turtles are no longer endangered

Thanks to some conservation efforts, the vital species population has increased

Photo courtesy of Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons

Green sea turtles have been swimming around the world since the age of dinosaurs–over 110 million years ago. Now, after years of endangered status and efforts to save them, green sea turtles are no longer considered endangered. In Oct. of 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified green sea turtles from being endangered to being a species of least concern. According to Inside Climate News, “the oldest and largest dedicated climate newsroom in the nation,” the definition of a species of least concern is a species which is “not a focus of conservationists because they don’t appear to be facing any imminent threats.” 

This species of sea turtles was first listed as endangered in 1978, as per Sea Turtle Conservancy. Inside Climate News further details that the turtles were threatened 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.”

To protect these giant turtles, which can grow up to 350 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), years of efforts have been made. Some conservation efforts, according to Inside Climate News, include international commercial sea turtle trading bans, laws prohibiting fishing of turtles for meat and eggs, and the protecting of beaches and seas where green sea turtles build nests and risk being poached. 

One piece of technology that has played a large role in protecting the turtles from getting caught and harmed in fishing nets has been turtle-excluder devices. These devices are “metal grids [which] are fitted into the back of trawlers focused on catching shrimp and other fish to allow large animals to escape if they’re caught.” The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that more than 250,000 sea turtles are killed by being caught in a fishing net per year.

While great efforts have been made to save the green sea turtles and they are no longer endangered, their recovery has not been smooth or even. Inside Climate News explains that approximately 77,000 green sea turtles now live in the South Atlantic region, and this number appears to be rising, helping to make the species no longer endangered. However, in the Central South Pacific region, green sea turtle numbers are declining; only around 6,000 mature turtles remain there. 

Both human activities and climate change are to blame, as further explained by Inside Climate News. Sea turtle rookeries, or breeding grounds, in Costa Rica used to be extremely populous spots for green sea turtles. Now, fewer are nesting there due to nearby fishing in Nicaragua. As for climate change, Bryan Wallace, coordinator of the IUCN marine turtle specialist group, calls its effects a population time bomb. He explains that as less sea turtles are able to hatch—and survive— “their population is likely to eventually decline.” Hatchlings have been unable to survive “on the low-lying [Raine] island due to sea level rise, salt water intrusion, increased sand temperatures and erosion.”

The protection of sea turtles is vital to our environment. SEE Turtles, a nonprofit organization aimed at helping communities protect sea turtles, details the creatures’ importance by noting that the nutrients left behind on beaches by sea turtles’ eggs are key in sustaining the growth of coastal vegetation. Sea turtles also eat seagrass, helping to keep it healthy, which benefits many other species in the ecosystem as well. Sea turtles have a large importance in food webs; baby sea turtles are prey for many land species, such as birds and crabs, and adult turtles are prey for sharks and orcas in the sea.