GREEN TURTLE IS GOING GREEN

Triathletes are ‘go-getters’… With the ultimate goal to be the best and the fastest that they can, they become contenders in the survival of the fittest – and the world applauds their endurance and dedication.

The wetsuit industry plays its part in this feverish quest, with wetsuit manufacturers expected to achieve nothing less than making people surge through water like supersonic jets. A whole new lexicon of technical terms has sprung up, all dedicated to dazzling the hopeful competitor: silicon-jellied hydrophobic and hydrophyllic wetsuits that will carry and propel, perfect the water position, and ensure they reach the swim finish line in tip-top condition. 

Yet along the way some things have been forgotten …

This year, while dealing with the newest and best on the science and technology forefront, we (Green Turtle Australia) decided to move away from the sterile marketing images of the high-tech era and bring back our original logo from 10 years ago – the friendly, smiling turtle. And then the realization came: What are we doing for this little fellow – are we helping in any way to make him happy? What are we doing to make sure his own race is a successful one? It would be only fair to ask, is this turtle happy to be associated with us???

With eyes wide open, we dived into green turtle research, into the deep waters of marine sciences, statistics, environmental policies and conservation issues. We finally surfaced … but without a smile.

While marine turtles have been around for at least 110 million years – since the time of the dinosaurs – sadly most of the species are now struggling, and have been formally confirmed as endangered.

The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is the largest of all hard-shelled sea turtles, and while hatchlings are just 5 centimetres long, adults grow to a metre and weigh 130–160 kilograms. Green turtles are unique among sea turtles in that they are vegetarians, feeding primarily on seagrasses and algae.

Turtles are great travellers – female green turtles have been known to journey more than 2600 kilometers in their migrations between feeding grounds and nesting beaches. The greatest unknown is why they find it necessary to faithfully return to their original birthing beach, as it takes up to 30 years for a female green turtle to mature. Are they guided back by the position of stars, or the earth’s magnetic field, to the only place they remember as safe?

After coming ashore and finding a comfortable site, the female excavates a shallow hole and carefully deposits 80 to 200 ping-pong ball-sized eggs in it. After the hot sand has incubated the eggs for about two months, the tiny hatchlings break through the shell. In the darkness of the night, the green turtle triathlon race begins – firstly the dig from the nest, then the dash to the water. With disgruntled determination and down-turned tiny mouths, the hatchlings’ little clockwork-like flippers turn and turn and turn, every bit as desperate and determined as triathletes. Finally they reach the sea and begin their epic swim.

However, a baby turtle’s problems are only just starting when it reaches the sea, as it makes a tasty morsel for sharks and other fish. Less than 1% of the hatchlings survive to maturity.

In a 2004 Green Turtle Assessment, the World Conservation Union found a 48–65% decline in a number of mature females nesting annually. One reason is loss of birthing beaches to coastal development. If the female can’t reach another suitable beach nearby, she destroys the eggs by releasing them into the sea.

Another reason – and a most appalling one – is poaching. Around the world turtles are killed for their meat and eggs. The popularity of turtle soup and the assertion that turtle eggs apparently improve virility intensified commercial harvesting that wiped out many turtle populations.

However, while many Pacific communities still depend on turtles as a source of food, the turtle slaughter is gradually being regulated or prohibited to ensure sustainable population management.

There are other factors that potentially may lead to turtles’ extinction. The temperature of the nest determines the sex of turtle hatchlings – warmer nests result in more females, cooler nests in more males. If temperatures at nesting sites rise too much, as data on climate change suggest they may, there is a risk that all turtles will hatch out as females, eventually leading to their extinction. Also, thanks to global warming, an increase in sea levels may cause many nesting beaches to be washed away.

Another turtle killer comes in the form of plastic washed up on polluted beaches, which turtles ingest. Whether it be a tiny hatchling or a 100 kilogram adult, turtles see plastic pieces of all sizes, colours and shapes as an attractive food item, in most cases with disastrous consequences. In one case, a 19 centimetre dead turtle was found to have 76 pieces of plastic inside. Sadly, although turtles have an amazing ability to survive for long periods, once human rubbish is blocking their intestines, a slow death from starvation follows.

It is a paradox that while we, the human beings, are the turtles’ biggest threat, we may also be the key to their survival.

Concerned people and organizations around the world are recognizing the plight of sea turtles. A range of scientific and volunteer-led conservation programs are monitoring turtle populations, assessing threats to their survival and educating communities about how they can help.

In a gesture of solidarity with our smiling wetsuit turtle, we have set up the Green Turtle Foundation, donating part proceeds of wetsuit sales to the research, protection and preservation of green turtles in the Pacific Ocean and Coral Sea. Each year we will select an organization that we believe shares the same values and is best positioned to make a difference. Green Turtle Australia will donate €5 for each Green Turtle Long Distance Quantum wetsuit sold, to contribute to the overall cheque handed over to this organization at the end of the 2008 season.

It makes us happy to be fighting for the ones that can’t fight for themselves, and ensuring that our ‘Don’t worry – Be happy’ turtle has a reason to be just that!

Author: Iwona Piescikowska, Director, Green Turtle Australia