The recent collapse of a tailings dam at a Samarco ore mine in the municipality of Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, is now being called the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history. In the state of Espírito Santo at the mouth of the Rio Doce, pollutants ultimately despoiled globally important leatherback and loggerhead nesting beaches.

Hawksbill shell, commonly called tortoiseshell, has been a precious commodity for centuries, and countless millions of turtles have been killed to supply craft markets along trade routes spanning the globe. Too Rare To Wear is a newly formed coalition of more than 40 conservation and tourism groups that is tackling the issue of hawksbill shell sales to tourists in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The loggerhead turtle is categorized as Vulnerable globally by the IUCN Red List, but risks and status vary across subpopulations. In this article, the Marine Turtle Specialist Group summarizes the status of different loggerhead populations worldwide.

Coming face to face with a living fossil underwater is a unique experience, and prolonged in-water sea turtle observation can teach us new and unexpected things about turtles that will help us to conserve them and their ocean habitats.

Plastics threaten many forms of marine wildlife through ingestion, entanglement, and the degradation of habitats and ecosystems. Sea turtles are of particular concern because their complex life histories, highly mobile behaviors, and use of numerous marine habitats expose them to harm from plastic pollutants through many different pathways.

South America has nearly 90,000 miles of coastline, and five of the world’s seven sea turtle species call the Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean waters and the beaches of South America their home for at least part of their life cycles.

Where Cape Cod juts into the Atlantic Ocean from the east coast of the United States, it forms Cape Cod Bay and the southern end of Massachusetts Bay. The area, which bears the grim moniker “the Deadly Bucket,” is the site of the world’s largest recurring sea turtle stranding phenomenon.

Preliminary surveys found important nesting areas for turtles as well as shallow marine areas with turtle foraging and mating grounds in Guinea-Bissau, a tropical, north African country known for its parks and protected areas.

Ghost gear—intentionally or unintentionally abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear—is a global conservation problem that affects dozens of marine species, including sea turtles. Ghost gear continues to catch target and non-target species long after being lost, abandoned, or discarded, a process called ghost fishing.