The Green Turtle

The green turtle (scientific name chelonia mydas) is a subspecies of sea turtle that mainly inhabits the tropical and subtropical waters of the Galapagos, the Coral Triangle, the Mesoamerican Reef, Coastal East Africa, and the Gulf of California. It is one of the largest subspecies of sea turtle, growing between 31 and 47 inches long and weighing between 150 and 400 pounds. It is also the only subspecies of sea turtle that is a herbivore, eating only algae and seagrasses. However, like other subspecies of sea turtle, it travels far from its nesting beaches in order to feed. It was named for the greenish color of its fat and cartilage, not its shell. In fact, one group of it in the Eastern Pacific actually has darker shells, so the people who live in that area actually call it the black turtle instead of the green turtle.

The green turtle is classified as an Endangered species. It is this close to becoming extinct for three reasons. The first reason is that it and its eggs are harvested for food and the products that can be made from them. Because of this, one of the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF's) efforts to save it consists of working with the communities around its habitat to reduce this harvesting, working with TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, to stop the illegal trade in its meat and eggs, and training and equipping rangers around its habitat to patrol its nesting beaches and, therefore, protect it from poachers. The second reason is that it gets caught on longline hooks and in fishing gillnets and shrimp trawl nets alike. Because of this, another one of the WWF's efforts to save it consists of advocating for the use of devices that would prevent it from getting entangled in gillnets and trawl nets and working with fisheries to switch to fishing hooks that it would not get caught on. The third reason is that its nesting beaches are being destroyed by various destructive human activities. Because of this, yet another one of the WWF's efforts to save it consists of equipping conservationists of it, supporting the patrolling of its nesting beaches, and establishing areas where it will be able to nest, feed, and migrate safely. All of this is being done for two reasons. The first reason is that its grazing on seagrasses maintains their beds and, therefore, makes them more productive. These beds function as nurseries for various species of fish and invertebrates that are fairly valuable to commercial fisheries and, therefore, are important to the food security of humans. The second reason is that the seagrasses it eats quickly becomes available as recycled nutrients to the many species of plants and animals that live in these seagrasses.

Source for picture and all information: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/green-turtle