Green sea turtle diving, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
© imageBROKER/Alam
Wave your flippers in the air…
…it's World Sea Turtle Day! The gentle giant seen here was snapped mid-dive, headed to the seabed near the Great Barrier Reef in search of some tasty marine grass. The green sea turtle is among the larger of the seven sea turtle species, with some individuals reaching 5ft long and weighing 50 stone. They live throughout the world's subtropical waters and, like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances for food. Despite all that travelling, they return to hatch their eggs on the nesting beaches where they were born.
Unfortunately, the green sea turtle is somewhat of a poster creature for endangered species awareness. In just the last five decades, 90% of the green sea turtle population was lost to overhunting, habitat destruction and drowning in industrial fish nets. What better time than World Sea Turtle Day to see how you can help? Learning how your seafood was caught, and searching for turtle-friendly seafood sources, would be a great start.
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