The Wayuu, of northern South America, consider themselves to be the protectors and custodians of an ancient culture based on maintaining a harmonious alliance with nature. Like many other indigenous groups around the world, the Wayuu revere turtles to this day for their spiritual and cultural values and as a source of food, medicine, and other products that are crucial to their daily lives.

Geopolitics of the past have left France with many territories that are spread across the globe, and the coincidental overlap of so many sea turtle regional management units is a fortunate consequence that allows France to play a disproportionately important role in sea turtle conservation. In this article, members of the French Marine Turtle Group offer an overview of the distribution and movement of turtles in French waters, as well as the threats facing turtles in French territories around the world. 

Most knowledge about sea turtles and their biology has been obtained from studies of adult females on nesting beaches. Studying male sea turtles across the globe is vital to better understanding important aspects of their biology and ecology.

Understanding the impact of chemical contaminants on turtles can inform turtle conservation and also can guide efforts to protect and conserve larger ecosystems. Partners in WWF-Australia’s Rivers to Reef to Turtles project have spent the past four years studying the chemical profile and health impacts of pollutants found in green turtles in the hope of improving the way turtles and their habitats are monitored and conserved.

Developers eyeing coastal locations often need information quickly to make the best choices about where to site their projects for minimum environmental impact. Often there are little or no data available on sea turtle nesting, and collecting field data can be slow and costly. An international environmental consultancy is creating a software tool that can rapidly assess and rank the value of beaches for their potential sea turtle nesting importance in areas where biological data are absent.

We are excited to announce the availability of The State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT) Report, vol. XIII, now available online and in print. Explore the sea turtles of Japan, loggerhead turtle movements in the Pacific Ocean, and the sea turtles of the French territories through all new maps and data visualizations. Other articles explore bycatch solutions, plastic pollution, the Kemp's ridley's status, and more.