Today is the best day of the year, World Turtle Day (even better than tomorrow) Is it a coincidence that my birthday is the day after World Turtle day? I think not! Anyone who knows me knows me as that sea turtle guy. Ever since a young age, sea turtles have fascinated me, whether it is seeing them swim in the ocean or laying eggs at the beach.

There are seven sea turtle species, loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, kemps ridley, olive ridley, and flatback turtles.  Leatherback sea turtles are listed as vulnerable, and the other six are endangered or critically endangered internationally. Sea turtle’s main non-natural threats are being harvested for consumption and for their shell, being bycatch in commercial fishing, ingesting plastic and other pollution in the ocean, and humans on the beach (lighting near the beach, causing beach erosion, building sea walls that destroy nesting habitat, and climate change.)

I have been a research assistant for a University Of Florida/Sea Turtle Conservancy(STC) /U.S Geological Survey inwater research project (FWC Permit #118) under Ph.D. student and sea turtle biologist Richard Herren, getting to interact up close and learn more about these animals I love.

STC’s research and conservation initiatives have helped save the green turtle from extinction, as well as raise awareness and protection for sea turtles across the globe with nearly 60 years of experience in national and international sea turtle conservation, research, and educational endeavors. Everyone please check out https://conserveturtles.org/ for more facts and information about these amazing animals as well as current research projects. There is still so much more to learn about these wonderful creatures and a lot more work to do to save them from extinction.