Sea turtles are native to England, and you may even come across giant leatherback turtles. Found worldwide, they are known as the ‘ocean lawnmowers’ as they eat seagrass. Their other favourite food is jellyfish, which is why it’s important never to release balloons (as 70% of them land in the ocean and get eaten as they look similar).
Sea turtles are beautiful creatures with incredible shells (so never buy anything made from tortoiseshell like combs, sunglasses or hair slides). Some species even hitch a ride on them. Two main hazards to sea turtles are plastic straws and light pollution (many turtles are going to car parks to give birth, mistaking the lights for the moon, by which they navigate).
Advanced Mooring Systems makes boat anchor alternatives to protect seagrass beds and turtles. Anglers can invest in monomaster (a small device to store fishing line that unlike conventional bins, does not encourage birds to nest and also get tangled). This photo by Jordi Chias highlights issues of ghost fishing waste, after he untangled a sea turtle trapped in fishing net.
a marine biologist’s quest to help sea turtles
My Life with Sea Turtles is a book filled with wonder for the natural world, a captivating tale of one of the oldest living creatures on earth, alongside a female scientist’s fight to save their future.
In 2015, a team of researchers carefully removed a plastic straw from a sea turtle’s nostril, off the coast of Costa Rica. This disturbing incident (captured on video) went viral and lead to corporate straw bans around the world. In this book, the marine biologist behind the camera recounts her own life spent studying and protecting sea turtles.
From the time she was a young girl, the author was determined to become a marine biologist and study the marine world. In this book, she shares how she went from a small grey town on the edge of industry, to the lush coastline of Costa Rica, where she fell in love with the local environment and its famous residents: sea turtles.
Figgener describes patrolling the beach at night, swimming with turtles in the open ocean, watching tiny turtles emerge from sandy nests and risking her life during tropical storms. We learn of her experience as a woman in the male-dominated conservation space, where surprisingly at times she struggles to be taken seriously. Through discovering the fascinating science of sea turtles (and the threats they face today), readers will be inspired to live their own lives differently, to ensure survival of these magnificant creatures.
Christine Figgener was born in Haltern am See and grew up in Germany’s industrial Ruhr valley. After studying biology, she earned a PhD in marine biology from Texas University and has lived and worked in Costa Rica since 2007, researching sea turtles and fighting for their protection.
the longest-swimming sea turtle in history!
Yoshi Sea Turtle is the true story of a loggerhead turtle who was born in Australia then swan across an ocean filled with sharks and seahorses to only land in a fishing net. Rescued by a passing fisherman, she was rehabbed (and tagged). Then released to make a record-breaking swim across the Indian Ocean to the beach where she hatched to lay her eggs. Written by a record-breaking human swimmer, this is the tale of a sea turtle who swam the longest distance of any animal, in recorded history.
