Sea Turtles and Climate Change

Sea turtle populations have been decimated by commercial fishing and are now further threatened by the effects of climate change.

Oceana has released a new report which examines the possible impacts of global climate change on sea turtle populations. Climate change can cause severe storms, erosion, and sea level rise, which all impact sea turtle nesting beaches. Rising temperatures may alter the timing of nesting, the location of nesting, or shift the population to a higher proportion of females since the sex of the hatchlings is temperature dependent. In addition, climate change may affect sea turtles by altering ocean currents and migration routes, and by decreasing availability of prey.